To The Shore
The trees are thick and knobby this side of the forested thicket, sway to the side in terrific sighs, and lurch back after a gust of wind. Birds gather in upper branches to chatter [...]
Simple Days of Youth
“She longed for the simple days of youth, before the heaviness of family responsibility came barreling down and suffocated her, before the crisp golden Dutch air was invaded with cold, severe metal airplanes cutting [...]
Vintage Superheroes
In April 2010, my dear older brother Tim had a second heart surgery. His first surgery – for an aortic dissection – was in 2003, and during emergency open-heart surgery, Tim received a graft on [...]
5th of May, Dutch Liberation Day!
The Northern part of the Netherlands was finally freed! The 5th of May 1945 was their Bevrijdingsdag, “Liberation Day,” as Queen Wilhelmina announced victory and peace for the Dutch people; their Victory Day had [...]
my narrative was rewritten
Orange expressions in bloom at University Hospital Anschutz gardens. I visited recently, contemplating my own admission at an open-heart surgery patient. Who would be praying for me in these lovely spaces in July? How [...]
My Dear Oma and Opa
I am dearly fond of my Nico and Diny, my Opa and Oma. They were as most pictures reflect – joyful, loving, and hopeful. My Oma was born in July 1921, in Batavia (now [...]
