?

"Ah nee he,
niet nu,
morgen"

"{sigh} No,
not now,
tomorrow"

King Circum

Now I'm the king of the swingers
Oh, the jungle VIP
I've reached the top and had to stop
And that's what botherin' me
I wanna be a man, mancub
And stroll right into town
And be just like the other men
I'm tired of monkeyin' around!

- "King Louis" (junglebook) - Written by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman -

Crazy auntie Mien

My grandparents always had an open house. It was not unusual to meet other people there when we went to visit them, also many older people (at least they seemed old to me).

One regular was auntie Mien, who was married to my grandfather’s brother Levie. Levie was cattle dealer, and always walked around with a big pile of cash in his pocket and just like my grandfather always had a big Willem II cigar in his mouth. They had gotten married when their son was already in his thirties, something rather uncommon in those days. We all had our doubts about auntie Mien’s sanity, a feeling only reinforced by the one and a half teeth she had left in her mouth and a whinnying laugh.

I remember one day at a cosy family gathering, Auntie Mien explained that, now she was widow, it was not economical too cook for herself. What she did was to cook a dish and freeze it in little cubes. Then she would take from the freezer what and when she needed it. I remember the laughs we had about the silliness of this when she left.

It was some 20 years later that , in my supermarket freezer section, I found little cubes of spinach.

I bet she is laughing above now.

Celebrating birthdays is a social imposed event

... religious customs alike.

Secular bar mitsvah

We are preparing our youngest son's bar mitsvah and we expect at least 100 people in the synagogue. With some luck we'll have minyan too.

My birthday

This must have been the first year that I didn’t dislike the fact that it was my birthday. It always emphasized how little real friends I have. Also the fact to be reminded getting older was also something I didn’t like. I guess I found peace in my situation as a lone wolf.

Singing with grandpa

Grandpa was the tamed wild extrovert rogue while grandma was the silent intellectual. One of opa’s joys was singing with his family and oma would watch us with a smile on her face. “Als in een emmer een gat zit” ("If there's a hole in my bucket") was the name of his favourite song. A song where the family would sing/ask questions and he would sing/answer them:

It went like this:

"If there’s a hole in my bucket dear Dorus, dear Dorus,
If there’s a hole in my bucket?
Dear Dorus, what then?

Then you have to fill it, simple Liese, simple Liese
You have to fill it simple Liese.
Simple Liese, fill it.

With what I’ve to fill it, dear Dorus, dear Dorus.
With what I’ve to fill it?
Dear Dorus, with what?"

The rest of this question and answer song went like this:

Dorus would suggest a cork,
Liese wondered what to do if the cork was too big,
Dorus suggested that she’d cut it,
Liese wondered with what,
Dorus suggested a knife,
Liese wondered what to do if the knife was too blunt,
Dorus suggested to sharpen it,
Liese wondered with what,
Doris suggested a grindstone,
Liese wondered what if the grindstone was too dry,
Dorus suggested to wet it,
Liese wondered with what,
Dorus suggested with water,
Liese wondered how she would get that water,
Dorus suggested a bucket and then Liese would get back to her first question that what to do if there was a hole in the bucket.


And we’d all end this song singing the first part again with a smile.

Do you speak Dutch with your kids at home?

"No, we yell in Dutch at them."

Belgian breakup?

I don't think it will make a difference to the disposition of the average Flemming if, or when, the country gets divided. They only have to find a new main focus to abreact their envy, inferiority complex, xenophobia and other frustrations. From experience I can tell that Holland is a serious candidate.