Roots of Violence
US Army, Justice System J B US Army, Justice System J B

Roots of Violence

Melody Ermachild Chavis has spent her long career looking deeply at the causes and conditions that underlie violence. A private investigator for capital offence defense teams, Melody specialized in the research and presentation of evidence of mitigating circumstances. Traumatic events lie behind many violent acts. The social histories Melody compiled were not excuses for crime, but attempts to understand what circumstances could cause people to offend.

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Wie ich zur deutschen Sprache gekommen bin | How I came to the German Language

Wie ich zur deutschen Sprache gekommen bin | How I came to the German Language

Born in Berkeley, CA, in 1940, Travis studied French and German at Berkeley High School and later added Italian at UC Berkeley. He spent his Junior year at the interpreters' school with these trilingual studies in Geneva, where his Swiss roommate taught him some Swiss German. Travis married Phyllis in 1962 in Berkeley and graduated one year later. He joined the Army to avoid being drafted for Viet Nam, and went to “Intelligence School.” In 1964, he was transferred to Munich where he and Phyllis spent 22 months, living in an apartment and wearing civilian clothes to his office, becoming immersed in the German language and culture.

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