I expect when Mom and Dad immigrated to Canada in 1958, their grasp of English would have been quite limited. Sure, they had learned some very elementary words years earlier in grade school, mandatory language lessons along with German and French. They may have even picked up a few classes in preparation for their flightContinue reading “Scrabble”
Tag Archives: #familyhistory
Bricks and Souls
We had gone around the table, asking each of my cousins from the van der Weil family for one word to describe Oom Cees. Finally coming to Margaret, she proclaimed, without hesitation, “modern ideas”. Olga and I were in the Netherlands in part to meet with my relatives and to conduct some research into theContinue reading “Bricks and Souls”
Imprints
The Ones Beatles show began with three questions for the Roy Thomson audience: Where were you when John F. Kennedy was shot?Where were you when man first landed on the moon?Where were you when the Beatles played the Ed Sullivan show for the first time? November 22, 1963. I have no clue, the tragedy notContinue reading “Imprints”
Baseball and Popcorn
We were delayed in leaving for our very first trip together. Not thinking, our car was left unlocked, exposed to the shenanigans typical of weddings at the time; confetti jammed into the air vents, Vaseline smeared on the steering wheel, the door handles, the gas tank. It all had to be cleaned before we couldContinue reading “Baseball and Popcorn”
The blond guy and a girlfriend
My book collection became accessible again so I began a slow survey of those shelves which had been blocked for a couple years. I happened upon a thin memoir entitled, alfabet/alphabet, winner of the Governor General award in 2022. It reminded me of a specific passage forever stuck in my memory because it explained aContinue reading “The blond guy and a girlfriend”
Remembering
On the last evening of our Netherlands adventure, it was time to recount the events of the two week trip. Glass of wine in hands, Olga, Bohdan, Danya, and myself, were asked to identify our highlight. The response was swift although difficult to reduce to only one. The Keukenhoff with its magnificent display of springContinue reading “Remembering”
Keep your files thin
Alight at Freshfield and turn right onto Victoria Road.DO NOT cross the railway line.It is a 200m walk to Herbert House on the left. These are the last words of instruction on this now four and a half hour convoluted 354 km train ride from Heathrow airport involving six transfers and three different rail lines,Continue reading “Keep your files thin”
O’ Tannenbaum
It was my Dad’s job to purchase the tree every Christmas. Accompanying him on the quest to acquire the best possible tree for the lowest conceivable price was a lesson in frugality and gamesmanship. Too early in the season would result in paying the posted price. Not enough snow would reduce demand, providing an opportunityContinue reading “O’ Tannenbaum”
Jet Airliner
Ridin’ along in this big ol’ jet planeI’ve been thinkin’ about my home I was thinking about my inaugural plane ride when the family travelled to the Netherlands in the summer of 1967. The trip was Mom and Dad’s first time back, almost ten years after their arrival in Canada, to celebrate Dad’s parent’s goldenContinue reading “Jet Airliner”
Ahead by a century
“Your uncle would have been a product of his time.” The statement weighs heavy as the last line of my notes from an afternoon of conversation with Fr. Cor Schilder, appointed as our host on a visit to Mission House Vrijland, a retirement home for Dutch Mill Hill missionaries in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands. Fr. KeesContinue reading “Ahead by a century”
Wonderings 