Woke up 1am-ish and was inspired to put pen to Huub’s card, in the bathroom so as not to wake up Mom. But when I emerged she sat up with a start and asked if I was ok: had I been in the bathroom a long time… or had she dozed off? / Both of us woke up 6.10am-ish and dozed to 6.15 and then to 6.20. Showered and packed up the room. At 7.15am Mom went next door to help Huub dress and at 7.45am I finished up his packing. Had breakfast in Huub’s room – a cup of tea and OJ, the left-over croissant, the last of the sliced bread and plakjes beemster. Huub at the desk, Mom in the chair in the corner, me on the bed. I ferried our 3-bags-each to the front door, while Mom finished off her packing and Huub watched some teletext; at 8.50am Huub went to the restaurant for a cup of coffee and I snuck the time to write Mom’s card. Aad & Joke drove by at 9am to say goodbye – she’d just been for a blood test, and Aad warned me from the driver’s seat not to get too close, saying he had the grippe. Our taxi arrived 5mins early at 9.10am and we were all packed up and ready to go by 9.15am. Our driver from Suriname of Behari afkomst warned us the drive would take 45mins instead of the more usual 30min, because of rush hour traffic – and we were indeed stuck ‘in de file’ for about 10mins just before La Place. Huub enjoyed his elevated perch in the front seat and was quiet most of the ride, but did entertain us with some historical anecdotes about the Haarlemmer Meer Polder as well as the Landsmeer Polder (one of the oldest, dating from something like 1400). Mom admired the clean lines and greenness of the landscape, and gawked at the files (traffic jams) in directions opposite and perpendicular to ours. We chatted most of the way. She’s a little down on staying in the basement at Jim’s (it’s a little musty) but of course very grateful for his hospitality. I asked if she thought she’d go with Jim’s family to the River Road Congregation (Souad from APC in The Hague had asked if Asbury had a church), and she said she’d probably find something closer to her own community <at Asbury>. She reminded me Ensign will be in London in October. ‘I hope he’s alright,’ she said, about his spontaneously deciding to join Amma on her trip to London to visit her daughter after the birth of her first grandchild. She reiterated that he’s on meds and insinuated through her concern that he may be in some kind of manic phase. ‘I mean, that’s…wonderful <that he’s taking all these trips>.’ “Wonderful” was not the word her tone of voice would have inserted into that sentence. It was weird: her criticism of /concern for Ensign, which was evident because voiced but un-pinpointable (or -reproachable) because unspoken. ‘It’s too bad in this land of water I never found people to go sailing with; it would have been so nice to go sailing.’ Really?! Isn’t Toon Visser a big yachtsman, and didn’t I just hear this week how Aad and Joke got together through their mutual love of sailing? I notice I get annoyed at what I consider ‘insincere regret’ or ‘insincere yearning’ – expressing regret for the absence of something one minute before midnight when the hands of the clock have made a full rotation without your having mentioned wanting that something even once. I didn’t make any comment out loud. / We get dropped at Schiphol T-3 (not the KLM terminal) for the BA flight, and our driver loads the bags onto two trolleys and Huub tips him Euro 10 on top of the Euro 50 fare. We make our way to counter 21, I check them in at the automatic kiosk, and unload their 6 bags at the bag drop. They are relieved I am dealing with the machines and the robotic people and the heavy bags. We take photos by the counter. We’re all relaxed. We go for coffee and a pain au raisin at the 9-table Java Kiosk, and I give them their cards. They are touched. Mom asks when I had time to buy and write the cards. She scoffs where in my card I said she’d scoff, but she seems touched. Huub is moved, and says once again that he wouldn’t be here <sitting in this chair at the airport, in one piece, and crying> if it weren’t for me helping him. And I did help him. And I helped Mom by helping Huub, because otherwise she would have had to help Huub, and she would never have gotten both her and his stuff (leave stand the household stuff) done. It’s good I came. / We went over to the ‘Passenger Assistance’ desk and the young girl told us we were supposed to have arrived a full hour ahead of time and we were 15mins late; she would ‘do her best’ to get someone to help us. Huub and Mom talked over each other to tell her she’d have to get it done, rather than do her best, because they had a plane to catch to America. Funny to see someone so young already acting so crotchety, and somebody in customer service increasing her customers’ stress (totally unnecessarily) rather than reassuring them. Took a seat to wait for the buggy, and MB&H asked the man next to them where he was traveling to. San Diago. In the US. Ah-not San Diago de Chile then. Nor San Diago de Compostella. The girl approached to tell us her buggy colleagues had arrived, and led us over to a gate to passport control that I could not pass through – and I said a hurried goodbye to Mom and then Huub. Huub said ‘I love you’ – to my surprise in English. They had to re-open the gate for him and I last saw him hurrying to catch up with the rest, disappearing around a corner out of my view. / Took myself and my bags downstairs to the train departures hall, bought a ticket to Lelylaan (paying an extra Euro 1 on a Euro 2.50 ticket for using a credit card), and caught the 11.32am train. Struggled down the narrow aisle of first class to the second class half of the train. No place to put luggage, so hoped nobody would struggle like me down the aisle, before my stop. At Lelylaan descended the stairs, exited the station, crossed the raod, and Tram 1 came within 5 mins. Presented my Strippenkaart and was told this was no longer accepted in Amsterdam. I asked if I could be reimbursed for it anywhere; the conductor didn’t know. I had an OV card on me from my March visit to Rotterdam, and asked how much a 2-zone fare was using the card; the conductor didn’t know. I noted that the machine where I tapped in did not give me a read out of my balance; how could I find that out? She thought upon tapping-out the machine would give me a balance, but wasn’t sure. (It does in fact do so). / Got off at Rheinvis Fijt Straat (what a great name, eh?), and Reyer Anslo Straat is right there. / Tota opened the door in a green knit dress, the skirt Pierot-like. She’d knit it herself. She didn’t feel like doing anything much today, and stayed home knitting. She picked up knitting (again) about three years ago, and can’t make anything more for herself (she has enough knit-wear now). She asked again about my many bags, and I explained again that only two were going on to London with me. She said I was crazy if I was planning to carry them all up to Alec’s – did I know how steep the stairs are to his apartment, and that there are two flights before the front door? I explained I needed to repack the bags in any event, and she said I was welcome to do that in her living room. So I unpacked and repacked, and she / we chatted, and the TV was on in the background airing the Commonwealth Games so she wouldn’t miss the gymnastics and the participation of the 17-year-old daughter of an Englishman who used to rent upstairs from them. <check>. Used Tota’s laptop to check 9292nl and the route to the Bijlmer Arena , and also checked email – asked Susan if I could stay at her’s this weekend, responded to Sharon’s mail of a week ago, wrote Wren finally and hoped we could meet up in London, apologized to Byron for radio silence. / Paul helped me carry my re-packed bags through the Vondelpark to 16 Saxenburger Straat, but didn’t offer to heave them up the stairs. Took them up one at a time, and unpacked into Felix’s old room. The flat still has a fair bit of furniture left, just no character. And the paintings that happen to be up on the walls detract rather than enhance. Where did the stained glass go, btw? / A piece of paper lying on the dining room table was a Biblical text, underlined – ‘Jezus in de woestijn.’ Tota had mentioned that Joya had become a devout Christian; “Better that than sex or drugs, eh?” / Went back to Tota’s and wrapped up presents for Pleun & Pieter & Ciske, and fit everything into a wheelie bag and a plastic bag. / Caught tram 1 and metro 50 (dir Gein) to Station Bijlmer (took about 20mins), exited on the side of the buses, located and aimed for the Adidas building, then skirted ‘round to the back and found Alex in Afrika (each segment of what Pieter later told me was the old Fokker HQ building is named after a continent). The area is now something of a poor man’s Canary Wharf. 20 years ago it didn’t feel safe to walk around here; now I’m the only person walking away from the metro at 5pm against a tide of suits. Called Pieter and he emerged 10mins later. Took elevator down to the garage, and hopped in his station wagon. Something felt a little off. Is it that he’s coming off work, and his mind is still elsewhere even though he’s doing his best to (pretend to) be present with me? Or is he pissed off at me for arriving at 5.20pm rather than at 5pm but is not going to mention it? Brief catch up on his job (he’s heading up a 15 man team, and just got a Business Process outsourcing contract from SNS, ‘So I’m golden for the next 7 years’); Ageeth (“It doesn’t do her any good to cater to her whims; I can be ‘bot’ but do think it’s better for her to get out of the house and have some social interaction”); Pleun (now 5, in the 3rd level of the Montesorri school – which we drove past); Ciske (taking the course to become a personal trainer – the theory exam is in November, and the practical is in December; her birthday is Oct 24th 1972, fyi). Oddly Huub & Mom’s departure seemed kind-of non-news. I had bags with me full of books and gifts for him and the family, and he asked if I’d had a good trip. When I said I’d just seen them off this morning, he remained quiet. He did say something to the effect of, ‘Well, Marybeth must be happy’ and I felt compelled to explain how Marybeth has not been pining for the US, and it’s about having a support network at hand should anything go wrong with her or Huub’s health.
Tbc
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