I'm not sure what day it was that I actually moved from Saarbrücken, Germany, to Basel, Switzerland, in 1995, so I can't celebrate the anniversary in Basel with complete precision. I do know the first day I was here for my job interview: 25 April 1995 (it was the last Tuesday in April). But my residency permit does have a date I can celebrate: according to the canton of Basel-Stadt, my official residency in Basel began on 2 October 1995. It's been three decades in this great city and canton as a "Basler from Detroit", with three kids raised here, many friends, and well over a thousand students at the University. (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 2 October 2025)