More blasts from the past

Last week nothing much earth shattering has happened, so I took the time to relax and not worry about writing. Considering nobody seemed to obviously miss me, I don't feel too guilty. :>)

A few days ago I received a smattering of emails from a couple of Dutch people. I had no earthly idea who they were, but one of them insisted he knew me way back when.
He wrote me via the Schoolbank website, kind of like the Class Reunion site. A site I found many of my old school mates on a few years ago when we had our 40th reunion.

So this fellow writes me that he knew me from the parochial youth organisation I was the treasurer of. We organised dance evenings in an old church/school building back in the late 1960s. I sat by the door and sold tickets and kept the books. I also booked the (ahem) bands.

He also told me he had a girlfriend named Irene and that we all played badminton together, and that I was getting ready, or at least talking about, emigrating to the USA.

God, I forgot all about that badminton.

Well geesh, Louise, sounds like he knows me alright, but I don't have a clue as to who HE is. Even his picture didn't ring a bell.

The other fellow also found me on the Schoolbank, but he is looking for an old flame of his, a girl who was part of my clique in high school.

I had a few pictures of her, which I sent to him, but even when we were trying to find her for the reunion, she wasn't to be found, and no one knew what happened to her.
I hope he still finds her. I wish him luck.

The picture below is of my group of friends, 3rd class MULO (9th grade equivalent)high school, during a 'schoolreisje' (fun day trip at the end of the school year)

All I remember of that trip was that the tall blond gal in the back and I took turns singing songs on the bus microphone until the rest of the gang started to get sick and tired of us and started boo-ing us and throwing sneakers :>)

That was me on the left. The girl John is looking for is the dark haired girl with the sweater and white blouse. She came from a very strict catholic home (we all did, really) her mom was from Sicily, did not speak Dutch, and did not allow her daughter to have a boy friend. (argh) (Mobsters?Sicily?Maffia?Godfather?)

The blonde became a good friend and we have kept in touch sporadically over the years. She lives in Canada. In 1972 she was chosen Miss Holland, and I recall sitting in front of the TV back in Belmont, very pregnant with my son, my parents were visiting, watching her compete on the Miss Universe contest. She didn't win, but it was a neat experience.



Anyway (It's a little complicated, so bear with me)

The fellow who is looking for his old flame also pointed me to a website about my old neighborhood.

(for those of you who dare to surf this site:)

www.oudmoerwijk.nl

It's all in Dutch of course, but the pictures are great, it really gives you a good idea of the place I grew up.

I clicked on the link for stories (Verhalen) and found much to my surprise and delight a story from two people I knew. A sister and brother who's father started a youth organisation in our parish that kept us younguns off the streets for years.

They wrote how their father would rent a projector and show movies for his kids at birthdays for them and their friends. It was such a success that he wanted to do this for more kids, so he rented bigger equipment and got to use the old church/school building.
He singlehanded started an entire generation coming to Saturday afternoon movies.
Then he got the idea of starting some sort of children's cabaret, and he sent home a letter to the parents, asking for members. They even showed a picture of the form, too funny! Plus a newspaper article WITH photo. God, I was almost famous!

Since I loved to be a ham and also kinda played the guitar, and since my mom probably needed me out of her hair for a few hours a week, I was signed up immediately.

This man, Theo, and his wife were amazing. She sewed all our costumes. We had a 'band', 5 melodicas, two accordions, a drummer(ette) and ONE aucoustic guitar (ME)
(first picture on top here)

We sounded like crap most of the time.
Once Theo invited a fellow from a radio station to hear us audition. The poor man took ten seconds and ran out screaming.
*lol*

BUT...we had a great show, we had a magician, we had two kids who were comedians (they really were funny) Pepino and Pepano, and we did little skits.

We performed mostly for the parishioners, and at special events, we also played in nursing homes, and even went on a trip by bus to entertain a group of women who were in a sanatarium.

This picture show pretty much our entire group. The guy on the left of the polar bear is Theo, the lady way over on the right with the raincoat his wife.
I'm on the left, with a perm, dark long coat, gray pleated skirt. I couldn't wear pants/slacks that day because I had my period...Huh???!!! Hahaha...geesh

I guess we deserved this visit to the ZOO during this road trip. There are many faces I still remember so well, a few I've kept in touch with, some that have gone to the great stage in the sky, including Theo and his wife, and most of the adults in this picture.

Anyway, the last few days I've once again dug up the old pictures, and allowed myself to get nostalgic again. Like digging into another world, almost surreal. I just immersed myself in the time back then, did some time traveling if you will. Some stuff really comes back to you when you concentrate, and you remember things, people and places you have long forgotten, but are obviously still stored up in the attic of your brain.

Wheelie just rolls his eyes when I come storming into the room having found yet another familiar place or name. Oh well.


And here it's spring again. Even though we've had much rain the past week, and more to come, at least it's not cold anymore, and Boo loves the outdoors. She liked to swing, and climbs on top of the playthingie so she cam come down the slide herself.

Creeps me OUT!

The bad news is this. Wheelie's son finally had himself tested. He tested positive for MJD.

If it troubles Wheelie, he doesn't show it. Absolutely no reaction of any kind. Even his son didn't write about it in the accompanying letter (he sent us the copy of the test results), he just wrote about the weather and his daughter, our other grand kid.

Unbelievable. I married into a family with the emotions of a pile of bricks.

SGMKJ!