- During afternoon coffee, grandpa cradled his steaming cup in his hands and told me of his days working in the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and NATO. His stories are fascinating.
- Grandpa always taps his coffee cup as he talks. He claims he has no sense of rhythm and that Grandma has way more of a proclivity for music, but I think he's being humble...
- This morning while reading the paper, I learned about the comics my grandparents used to read in Holland. Marten Toonder illustrated a series called "Oliver B. Bommel" or "Tom Puss." It's about a pair of animal friends (a bear and a cat) who are friends and find themselves in all sorts of adventures. When Grandpa moved to the USA, he read Dick Tracy and Mandrake the Magician in the comics page.
- Today I learned Grandpa's perspective on the importance of a good teacher. Although his family was very, very poor, Grandpa was able to go to some of the best schools in Holland - all because his teachers recommended him for special programs and nominated him to attend certain schools. Most of the time, Grandpa didn't even know this! He said his classmates were children of wealthy parents who led successful careers in business and politics. Meanwhile, Grandpa's father was a bricklayer and house painter. Without the encouragement and wisdom of teachers who noticed something special in my grandfather, he would have never paved the career he did. These stories fill me with a new appreciation for teachers all over the world! It's true: "If you can read this, thank a teacher."
- Grandpa attended Savornin-Lohmanschool for grade school. He described his school as having two levels, each with a different principal. He recalls that he and his brother entered the school from different sides of the building because their classes were split up and held in alternative schools. While Grandpa continued in a school that specialized in history and liberal arts, Grandpa's brother studied handcraft work like construction. Eventually, his brother finished studies in engineering and moved to the USA. Grandpa moved to the States soon after, working in the GAO and performing auditing work for NATO.
- Dutch education in the 1920's and 30's had a religious component. In fact, Grandpa remembers reciting all of the books of the Bible for one school assignment. He even had to memorize the lineage of Adam! Grandpa chuckles and says he is thankful that he had a naturally good memory as a kid. Grandma, on the other hand, admits she never excelled in such assignments.
- Grandpa recited a fair bit of a poem he memorized in grade school. It is about William of Orange and his brother, the prins Maurits van Oranje, written by one of Holland's most venerated poets: Joost van den Vondel. I am currently trying to find this poem (thanks, Google!). After reciting a few verses, Grandma said, "Gosh, what flowery language..." I didn't understand a thing - it was in Dutch and contained a lot of jargon related to seamanship and historical references - but what I did hear sounded incredible.
- A joke word in Dutch is soldatententententoonstelligen. It's very fun to say :) You can try it: "soul-dahten-tenten-ten-tone-stell-ih-hen." Voilà! You can speak Dutch now. A tentoonstelligen is an exhibition. Can you guess what soldaten or tenten translate as? "Soldier" and "tents." (see? Dutch is easy!) Altogether, soldatententententoonstelligen is a "soldiers' tent exhibition." It's a joke word because of all the t's. What a mouthful. I smiled as Grandma described the story behind the words and explained the distinct sense of humour of the Dutch. All languages have their own comical characteristics.
- During breakfast, we found the Pentagon Channel on tv (heck yes!). We watched a video highlighting the life and career of General Pershing and several videos of servicemen and women saying hello to their families from across the world. The most entertaining program on the Pentagon Channel is called "Grill Sergeants." It's a cooking show. My favorite aspects of the show are the host's humor (he is quite a charming army sergeant) and the jazz band that accompanies him as he cooks.
- I confess that I say a short prayer each time I climb into the car with Grandma. She is an extremely exuberant driver... whew. Coupled with today's dusting of snow and slushy roads, I contemplated the idea that December 26, 2010 would be the day I would meet my Creator. Okay, just kidding.
Je vous envoie des bisous.
Groetjes ("friendly little greetings" as the Dutch say),
Lissie
