i feel like i have just climbed mount everest!

yesterday, i finally finished the "recording" phase of the book i am writing.  it has taken five and a half years of on-and-off-again work:  gathering the stories and the pictures, clarifying the facts of stories that i heard two or three versions of, doing historical research to help me put the stories into context, building a workable structure for the book, then weaving together the history and all the stories from the various branches of my family in a way that flows well. 

it's taken three trips to holland, back to the province of friesland and to the cities and towns where everything happened.  at one time, my backpack with ALL my photos was stolen, and that was a big setback, but i didn't give up.  i spent one christmas season with an aunt and uncle in ontario - they are the last survivors of their generation - talking with them in their living room every evening, with a tape recorder running. the tapes i got from that trip took me another year to disseminate, because i had to check and re-check everything, then weave all that they told me together with all that everyone else had told me, etc, etc, etc ........

the story at this point is not "written" exactly, just recorded.  but as i read the thing through, i realize that along the way, in moments of inspiration, i actually waxed eloquent here and there. 

what i have now is an awesome tale.  there was so much drama going on in holland during the period between 1900 and 1950, and a lot of that has found its way into the book, because my family was so, very deeply involved in some of those things, in personal ways.  they were ground-breakers and risk-takers, sometimes working behind the scenes but most often leading the charge.

for the last year, i've been working with a terrific guy who used to teach art in naples high school. these days, he is retired and does some graphic arts and photography stuff out of his home.  he has been patient and pleasant with me all this time, turning the various, usually degraded photos i have given him into digital records.  he has done wonders with some of the old photos, clarifying details like facial features and restoring colour wonderfully.

the next part of this task will be sooooo much easier, just wordsmithing and tweaking.  i will miss the travelling and all the adventures i happened into along the way. 

there was one snowstorm i tried to drive through, only to give up, turn around, and find the major highway CLOSED in the direction i was headed!!  i followed detour signs through 30 miles of snow-covered rural roads, in a rented, compact car whose tires didn't really handle the snow very well.  i was scared the WHOLE TIME!!!!! the snow was building up on the road signs and i had to strain my eyes to see the detour signs.  i could only see what a road sign said for a brief second, when i was almost beside it and the car's headlights shone at just the right angle to penetrate the layer of snow.  it was a FREAKY RIDE!!!  and, all in pitch dark.  i kept wondering i was certifiably insane, to leave florida in the middle of winter and go to ontario in the middle of one of the worst winters in recent history, on my quest for more stories.  but at that point, it was too late to second-guess myself.  i had done it, and now i was on this lonely, dark, snowy road, trying to pick out a path for my little car and read the snow-covered signs.  i did a LOT of praying that night!!!

there was one time i got off a bus in drachten, looking for a taxi, to find there were no taxis, no telephones, no other buses in the station, and nobody in the station house.this was before i got wise and bought a mobile phone that works in europe.  i had to walk a long way to find a petrol station, and asked them to use their phone.  they "accused" me of being an American, and feeling like a traitor to the States, i pulled out my canadian passport and spoke a few words in french to convince them i was NOT an american.  all of a sudden, they were falling over themselves to help me.  they said - actually SAID to me - that if i were an american, they wouldn't have wanted to help me!!  that was during the height of the anti-bush sentiment period.   (they seem to have forgotten who instigated and propogated the Marshall Aid plan, and who was the largest financial contributor to that plan, which basically fed their people and rebuilt their little country.)

i've learned that a canadian passport opens many more doors, all over europe, than an american one will open.  that is such a terrible shame!

i've gotten lost a couple times in dutch cities, but fortunately each time, i eventually found someone who spoke enough english to help me out.

through those challenges, there were countless days and more glorious days of just enjoying the country, and the people there and in ontario who were willing to sit and talk with me while i taped them, or made notes in my notebook.  i've been fed and lodged, loved and argued with, and always supported in my project. 

there is one important story i can't include, because a surviving relative has not given permission.  although i want to write "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," i will not, under any circumstances, dishonour that person by writing that story.

ok, should i take a deep breath and a short break, or should i plunge into the next draft?  think i want to take the plunge .......

wish me luck!

Vrijdag de 22 januari 2010




Ik voel me alsof ik net heb beklommen de Mount Everest!

Gisteren heb ik eindelijk klaar met het "Opnemen" fase van het boek dat ik schrijf. het heeft getroffen vijf en een half jaar van on-en off-weer aan het werk: het verzamelen van de verhalen en de foto's, het verduidelijken van de feiten van verhalen die ik hoorde twee of drie versies van, historisch onderzoek te doen om me te helpen brengen de verhalen in de juiste context bouwen van een werkbare structuur voor het boek, dan weven samen de geschiedenis en alle verhalen uit de verschillende takken van mijn familie op een manier die stromen goed.

het is genomen drie reizen naar Nederland, terug naar de provincie Friesland en de steden en dorpen waar alles gebeurd. op een bepaald moment was mijn rugzak met al mijn foto's gestolen, en dat was een grote tegenslag, maar ik gaf niet op. Ik heb een kerst seizoen met een oom en tante in Ontario - zij zijn de laatste overlevenden van hun generatie - praten met hen in hun woonkamer elke avond, met een bandrecorder draait. de tapes ik van die reis nam me nog een jaar te verspreiden, want ik moest controleren en opnieuw controleren alles, dan weven alles wat ze vertelde me samen met al dat iedereen me had verteld, etc, etc, etc ... .....

het verhaal op dit punt is niet "geschreven" precies, net geregistreerd. maar als ik het ding door te lezen, ik besef dat langs de weg, in momenten van inspiratie, ik eigenlijk was gezet welsprekend hier en daar.

wat ik heb nu een geweldig verhaal. Er was zo veel drama gaande is in Nederland in de periode tussen 1900 en 1950, en veel van die heeft zijn weg gevonden in het boek, omdat mijn familie zo was, zeer nauw betrokken bij een aantal van die dingen, in persoonlijke manieren. waren de grond-automaten en risiconemers, soms werken achter de schermen maar meestal leidt de heffing.

voor het laatste jaar heb ik gewerkt met een geweldige kerel die gebruikt om kunst te onderwijzen in Napels de middelbare school. deze dagen, is hij met pensioen en heeft een aantal grafische kunst en fotografie spullen uit zijn huis. hij geduldig geweest en aangenaam met mij al die tijd, draaien de verschillende, hebben meestal gedegradeerd foto's die ik hem gegeven in digitale dossiers. hij heeft verricht wonderen met een aantal van de oude foto's, duidelijkheid details zoals gezichtsuitdrukkingen en het herstel van kleur prachtig.

het volgende deel van deze taak zal sooooo veel gemakkelijker, net wordsmithing en tweaken. Ik mis het reizen en alle avonturen i gebeurd in langs de weg.

er was een sneeuwstorm Ik probeerde te rijden door, alleen op te geven, omdraaien, en vind de belangrijkste snelweg in de richting GESLOTEN i was headed! Ik volgde de borden omweg via 30 mijl van besneeuwde landelijke wegen, in een gehuurd, compacte auto waarvan de banden niet echt behandelen de sneeuw erg goed. Ik was bang de hele tijd !!!!! de sneeuw was het opbouwen van de verkeersborden en ik moest mijn ogen stam van de omweg borden te zien. Ik kon alleen zien wat een verkeersbord zei voor een korte tweede, toen ik bijna was ernaast en koplampen van de auto scheen precies op het juiste hoek om de laag van de sneeuw te dringen. het was een FREAKY RIT! en alles in stikdonker. Ik hield me af i was certifiably krankzinnig, naar Florida vertrekken in het midden van de winter en ga naar Ontario in het midden van een van de ergste winters in de recente geschiedenis, op mijn zoektocht naar meer verhalen. maar op dat moment was het te laat om de tweede raden mezelf. Ik had het gedaan, en nu was ik op deze eenzame, donkere, besneeuwde weg, proberen te halen uit een pad voor mijn kleine auto en de met sneeuw bedekte borden te lezen. Ik heb veel gebed voor die nacht!
er was een tijd dat ik uit een bus in Drachten, op zoek naar een taxi te vinden waren er geen taxi's, geen telefoons, geen andere bussen in het station, en niemand in het station house.this was voordat ik wijs en kocht een mobiele telefoon die werkt in Europa. Ik moest lopen een lange weg naar een tankstation te vinden, en vroeg hen om hun telefoon te gebruiken. ze "beschuldigd" mij ervan dat ik een Amerikaan, en het gevoel als een verrader van de Staten, ik trok mijn Canadese paspoort en sprak een paar woorden in het Frans te overtuigen hen was ik geen Amerikaanse. ineens waren ze omvallen zichzelf mij te helpen. zeiden ze - eigenlijk tegen me zei - dat als ik een Amerikaan, zouden zij niet hebben willen om mij te helpen! dat was tijdens het hoogtepunt van de anti-Bush sentiment periode. (ze lijken te zijn vergeten, die bevorderd en propogated het Marshall-plan voor hulp, en wie was de grootste financiële bijdrage aan dit plan, die in feite gevoed hun mensen en herbouwd hun kleine land.)

Ik heb geleerd dat een Canadees paspoort opent veel meer deuren, heel Europa, dan een Amerikaan een zal openen. dat is zo'n verschrikkelijk jammer!

Ik ben verdwaald een paar keer in de Nederlandse steden, maar gelukkig elke keer ik uiteindelijk iemand gevonden die Engels sprak genoeg om mij te helpen.

door middel van deze uitdagingen, er waren talloze dagen en meer glorieuze dagen van gewoon genieten van het land, en de mensen daar en in Ontario, die bereid waren te zitten en te praten met mij, terwijl ik ze geplakt, of maakte notities in mijn notebook. Ik heb gevoed en ingediend, geliefd en voerde met, en altijd gesteund in mijn project.

Er is een belangrijk verhaal kan ik niet bevatten, omdat een nabestaande geen toestemming heeft gegeven. hoewel ik wil schrijven "de waarheid, de hele waarheid en niets dan de waarheid," Ik zal onder geen beding, oneer die persoon door het schrijven van dat verhaal.

ok, ik haal diep adem en een korte pauze, of moet ik duik in de volgende ontwerp? denk ik wil de duik te nemen .......

Wish me luck!


Имам чувството, че току-що са изкачи връх Еверест!

вчера, аз окончателно завършена на "запис" фаза на книга, аз съм писмена форма. тя е взела пет и половина години по-и-Off-отново работа: събиране на истории и снимки, за изясняване на фактите по истории, които чух две или три версии, правиш исторически изследвания, да ми помогне да постави в контекста истории , изграждане на работеща структура за книгата, а след това заедно тъкане на историята и всички истории от различни клонове на моето семейство по начин, който потоци добре.

е взето три пътувания до Холандия, обратно към провинция Friesland и на големите и малките градове, където всичко се е случило. наведнъж, раницата ми с всички мои снимки е бил откраднат, и това беше голяма пречка, но аз не се предавам. Прекарах една Коледа с леля и чичо в Онтарио - те са последните оцелели от тяхното поколение - говориш с тях в живите стаята си всяка вечер, с магнетофон вървят. касетите имам от това пътуване ми отне още една година да се разпространяват, защото аз трябваше да проверите и отново всичко проверка, след което тъкат, че всички ми казаха, че заедно с всички, че всички останали са ми каза, и т.н., и т.н., и т.н. ... .....

историята на този етап не е "написано" точно, само записват. но като прочетох нещо чрез, аз осъзнавам, че по протежение на пътя, в моменти на вдъхновение, аз действително маска красноречив тук и там.

това, което съм сега е страхотно приказка. имаше толкова много драма се случва в Холандия в периода между 1900 и 1950, и много от това се е вписал в книгата, защото моето семейство е така, много дълбоко, участващи в някои от тези неща, в личен начин. те са били основание прекъсвачи и риска вземам, понякога работи зад кулисите, но най-често води обвинението.

за миналата година, Занимавам се с ужасен човек, който се използва за преподава изкуство в Неапол гимназията. тези дни, той е пенсионер и не някои графични изкуства и фотография неща от дома си. той е бил пациент и приятно с мен през цялото това време, превръщайки се на различни, обикновено деградирали и снимките са му дадени в цифрови записи. той е направил чудеса с някои от старите снимки, изясняване на детайли като черти на лицето и възстановяване на цвят чудесно.

следващата част на тази задача ще бъде SOOOOO много по-лесно, просто wordsmithing и променяте. аз ще пропусна пътуването и всички приключения се случи в по протежение на пътя.

имаше една снежна буря аз се опитах да карам през само да се откажа, обърни се, и да намерите на основните магистрали РАБОТИ в посока аз бях начело! Следях обход знаци до 30 мили от заснежените пътища на селските райони, под наем в една, компактен автомобил, чиято гуми наистина не се справят с сняг много добре. Бях уплашен през цялото време !!!!! снега беше изграждането на пътни знаци и аз трябваше да щам ми очи, за да видите обход знаци. само мога да видя какво знак път каза за кратко от друга страна, когато бях близо до нея и светеше фаровете на колата на прав ъгъл, само да проникне в слой от сняг. Това беше странно RIDE! и всички в непрогледно тъмно. Продължих да се чудех аз бях certifiably луд, за да остави Флорида в средата на зимата и отидете на Онтарио в средата на една от най-тежките зими в близката история, за моята задача за повече истории. но в този момент, тя е твърде късно за втора себе си предполагам. бях го направи, а сега съм на този самотен, тъмни, снежен път, опитвайки се да налучквам пътя за малко колата ми и прочетете покрити със сняг знаци. направих много се моли тази нощ!

Имаше едно време аз говорих с автобус в Драхтен, търсене на таксиметрови услуги, за да намерите не са таксита, няма телефон, няма други автобуси на гарата, и никой в гарата house.this беше преди аз имам мъдър и купи мобилен телефон, който работи в Европа. аз трябваше да ходят дълъг път за намиране на бензиностанция, и ги помоли да използват телефона си. те "обвини" ми е американец и усещане като предател на държавите, извадих ми канадски паспорт и говори с няколко думи на френски да ги убедим, не бях американец. изведнъж, те са били включени над самите да ми помогне. те казаха - Всъщност ми каза - че ако не са били американски, те не би искал да ми помогне! Това беше по време на височината на анти-Буш чувство период. (те сякаш са забравили, които подбуден и propogated план "Маршал" за помощ, и който беше най-големият финансов принос към този план, които основно хранят хората си отново и отново, малкият им страна.)

Научих, че канадски паспорт отваря много повече врати, в цяла Европа, отколкото американски ще се отвори. , че е толкова ужасен срам!

Аз бях намерила загубили няколко пъти в холандски градове, но за щастие всеки път, аз намерени евентуално някой, който говори английски достатъчно да ми помогне.

чрез тези предизвикателства, имаше безброй дни и по-славен ден просто наслаждаване на страната, а хората там и в Онтарио, които са готови да седнат и да говориш с мен, докато аз ги запис, или изработени отбелязва в моята тетрадка. Аз бях хранят и да се представят, обичани и спорех с, и винаги е подкрепял в моя проект.

там е една важна и история не може да включва, тъй като преживял роднина не е дал разрешение. въпреки че аз искам да пиша "истината, цялата истина и нищо друго освен истината:" Аз не ще, при никакви обстоятелства, позор, че лице от написването на историята.

ОК, трябва да поемете дълбоко дъх и кратка почивка, или трябва да се потопите в следващия проект? мисля, че искам да приеме предизвикателството .......

Пожелайте ми късмет!

Another thing I am doing to "go green" is use racks to dry my laundry.  I found a great rack online called the "butterfly rack."  It opens up like this:

Here it is, holding a load of freshly washed cleaning rags:

Here are both of my racks, holding two full loads of laundry:

When they are folded up, I stand them beside the kitchen door and use them to dry out kitchen towels and my reusable grocery bags.  (Yes, those are real Dutch wooden shoes on the floor - I wear them when I go in the back yard, because they are great for walking on the gravel.  They are also good when the yard is flooded (which happens often) because they keep my feet high and dry.

I've always been inclined to "go green" and thought it would be fun for some of you to see some of the ways I have been doing that, lately.

Recently I got three sprouting units and am growing fresh, organic sprouts on my kitchen table.  Here is a picture of my table:

Here is a close-up of the little sprouts growing inside:

And here is the mechanics of the setup:  water can for filling the reservoirs, drain hoses and jugs to drain the runoff water, a power strip to plug them in and a timer to control the times and duration of the automatic mist cycles:

Each little tray you see in the pictures grows an amount of sprouts that would cost around $8.00 in a store, and they wouldn't necessarily be organic - certainly not fresh.  I harvest the sprouts and use them the very first day they are ready.  It doesn't get any fresher than that!  The different varieties mature at different times, so the amount I harvest each day varies, but I estimate that I go through about $18.00 worth of sprouts daily.  I just juice them first thing each morning, and drink them.  If I want some to eat later in the day, I can just set some aside in the fridge, but so far I'm just drinking them.

So I'm eating "greener," saving money and eliminating the packaging completely. 

This is a ridiculously HOT autumn, for south Florida.  Today the temperature went up to 94 degrees (for you Canadians and Europeans, that is about 34.5 degrees Celsius.)  That is WILD for October!  And, the humidity has not let up as it usually does at this time of year.  We are steaming, like lobsters in a pot, here in Southwest Florida!

I went to a job today, at the home of a customer who had not been there for a week.  They had not set their a/c controls properly and the temperature inside the place was 91 degrees Farenheit (32.8 Celsius.)  Needless to say, I didn't do much in that house today!

Meanwhile, I have been hearing from people "back home" in Ontario, Canada about the weather there.  My girlfriend tells me that there was SNOW the other day.  It melted almost immediately, as the first snow always does, but it was definitely snow.  I heard another story about a guy who left his space heater on while he went away, to keep his apartment from getting too cold, and it caused a fire. 

This evening I went to my neighbours to help them celebrate their oldest son's tenth birthday.  Jorge, the birthday boy, is in the center of this picture, wearing a plaid shirt:

Here are his parents, Adan and Ere:

Here's his dad with baby brother Derek:

And Mom holding Derek:

The main menu item was panbasos.  They are sandwiches filled with crumbled chorizo sausage, mashed potatoes, lettuce, Mexican crumbling cheese, sour cream and hot green sauce.  The rolls are smeared with some spicy red sauce, then grilled on the outside, before the sandwiches are made.  Ere made a huge pan of these sandwiches:

Here is a panbaso by itself, with the usual accompaniements.  The green sauce is pretty strong.  It will burn a hole in the gut of anyone who is not used to eating really hot things:

EVERY Mexican birthday party needs to have a pinata.  Here is Jorge's:

Anbd Jorge pretending to ride it:

Adan rigged the pinata on the basketball hoop and dandled it around to keep the kids jumping while they swung at it:

This guy is the one who managed to break the pinata:

I got super lucky with this shot.  Couldn't have timed it better if I had known how to do it.  You can see the candy spilling out of the pinata as the kids pile up to grab it:

They scrounged until every last piece of candyt was gathered up:

And then Jorge wore the pinata's head for a party hat for a couple minutes:

Later, it was time for him to cut his birthday cake:

Ere made sure he got a face full of icing:

Finally, after being home over a month, I am posting the last of my travelblog postings.  I'm listening to Edith Piaf and wrapping this project up.

When I got back to Florida, my vacation wasn't quite over, yet.  I picked Rocco and my car up from Mom's place and drove north towards Jacksonville to visit some old friends.  They retired a few years ago and moved to Georgia.  Recently, they moved back to Florida and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit them, while I dealt with jetlag and rested from my journeys.  It turned out that I had no jetlag, so I was able to enjoy every minute of that visit.  They live very close to St. Augustine and the old fort there.  I had been there once, years ago, as had they, and we agreed that we wanted to visit it again.  It was a wonderful idea and we had a terrific day there. 

 Here are my friends:  Fran Stallings and his wife Judy.  Years ago, Fran was an environmental activist - professionally.  He was extremely well-funded by some local multi-billionaires and was able to rally all the local, state, national and international environmental organizations in a lawsuit against the federal government for non-enforcement of manatee protection regulation.  It was a long, drawn-out, vicious fight, but they WON!!!  That was the sort of thing he did when he was working, but now, he is enjoying a quiet, anonymous retirement with Judy.

More of the fort:

We were very lucky to be there at a time when the staff put on a display of firing a cannon over the harbour.  They were dressed in authentic Spanish soldier costumes of the era.

 Used REAL gunpowder!!! .... as you can see in this shot:

 .... and then pulled the cannon back from its firing position again.  It was fun to watch!

 More of the fort:

 After we toured the fort, we set out on foot to the downtown area, looking for a bar.  Saw some lovely examples of classic St Augustine architecture along the way:

 Fran and Judy wanted cocktails, but I wanted an iced coffee - I was having a fit, wanting some, for some strange reason.  Guess I was feeling tired and needed the caffeine kick.  We tried a couple places, and finally found a bar that served iced coffee:

 Bad weather was brewing, and we could smell it in the air.  As we drove back to their house, the sky and sea were absolutely beautiful.  I loved all the different shades of blue in this scene:

We had barely made it in the door when the rain started to pour down - a classic, Florida afternoon thundershower, but with more rain than usual. 

Okay, that's it for my travelblog - until next time I go somewhere, that is! 

In the village of Muider, in the province of Nord-Holland, just north of Amsterdam, is Muiderslot castle.  This was one of my favourite places to visit during the whole trip.  I spent four hours taking the guided tour, then wandering around on my own with a guidebook in my hand, taking pictures and letting my imagination carry me back to Medieval times.

During the Medieval era, the region which is now Netherlands, Belguim and Luxembourg was simply called "The Low-Lying Areas" and was made up of a number of small kingdoms controlled by wealthy "kings."  There was great wealth and great poverty in the land.  Muiderslot castle was the seat of one of the most powerful such men.  It was eventually destroyed, but later rebuilt "in era." 

Here are examples of the clothing worn by the privileged people of that time:

Yes, there really were court jesters in those times:

Although there was great wealth, living conditions were still quite primitive.  There were no underground water sources, no wells, no clear springs .... no source of clean water to drink.  Milk was needed to make cheese, so people drank beer.  They didn't make fruit or vegetable juices at that time, and they didn't know about brewing tea or coffee.  They drank beer all day long - pregnant and nursing mothers, weaned toddlers, everybody.  It had a low alcohol content, only about 2 percent, but still ....

People living in the castle relieved themselves in small chambers called privies, built into the exterior castle walls and portruding out a little from the main wall.  There was no such thing as a flushing system then, so the moat served as a primitive sewer, in addition to providing a degree of protection from invaders.  As a result, the moat was a breeding ground for bacteria and illness.  When the temperatures dropped below freezing, the waste was temporarily cfovered with hay.  The Muiderslot has a total of nine privies, five of which are visible.  Here are a couple: