The rhythm of the school year no longer beats with my daily song. The Tuesday following Labour Day marks the beginning of another academic session here in Canada for all levels of education. Were it not for advertisements about back-to-school sales while watching the ball game, this week would pass like every other. Truth beContinue reading “School”
Tag Archives: #familyhistory
Going Home
Centrale Begraafplaats West, Hoflan 150, Tilburg. Section 16,Grave number 10402483. Father Kees de Cock was buried there January 8, 1981. You will not find a stone; it was removed in 2002. If you visit the website and type his name in the search field, no results will appear. I wrote to an address listed inContinue reading “Going Home”
Beatitudes
10:55 am. Time to lock up and head over to the chapel, a quick jaunt across the small parking lot between the archives and the Herbert House residence. I am back in Freshfield, England almost two years to the day, combing through the files of the Mill Hill Missionary Society which may hold more informationContinue reading “Beatitudes”
Scrabble
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”
Bricks and Souls
We had gone around the table, asking each of my cousins from the van der Wiel family for one word to describe Uncle Kees. 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”
