There I stood outside my door, fixing (spraying it so charcoal doesn’t smudge) my charcoal drawings for a semester’s worth of basic drawing class. Then Lidy came by. I hadn’t seen her for a couple years. Then we started talking and I tell her of my summer plans, including a stopover in Holland on my way to Indonesia for my biology fellowship. She then gives me her grandmother’s phone number in Utrecht. “She loves visitors, you can stay at her house.” I kept her address in my book.
“Hello my name is Luke, I’m Lidy’s friend, did she talk to you?”
“No”
“She mentioned you like to show travelers around, I went to school with her in nyc.”
“Do you and to go to a concert, beethoven’s Pastoral symphony and the rite of spring? I’ll pay for you.”
“No, that’s alright, I just met Lidy a couple weeks ago.”
“I’ll meet you in the front of vredeberg concert hall.”
“I’ll wear a black hat with a c on it, what will you wear?”
“Let me think. I’ll wear a red scarf”
When I showed up, she was not only wearing a red scarf, but a red sweater. She had no trouble picking me out cause there aren’t many Asians in Holland. The concert hall was interesting as there were seats around the whole stage. The pastoral being unfamiliar to me put me to sleep the right of Spring gave me the chills for five times it was amazing to see all the brass percussion woodwind on stage .
That night she took me back to her house 82 years old and driving and I without a seatbelt are you to say ‘let op or pas op’ which means ‘look out’ at any time.she showed me a tons of maps of Holland and explained what polders are, what windmills are primarily used for (primarily to make polders). And she offered me some Dutch dessert I got one out of the bag and she said ‘let me have one too’. going to the car when I walked in the wrong direction she nudged me in the right direction. strong no-frills a woman eh?reminds me of my grandfather. and she talked of her Dutch experience. how in the war she would bicycle to the north and east of Holland to scavenge for food and shoes for her family. how the tires were hard rubber back then so that the flat tire was ruled out and one could carry a lot more cargo. She took me to the Holland countryside to see all the castles and beautiful houses of the merchants along rivers and canals on tiny roads. we weave through bikers and horses and cows and then she showed me a mansion turned museum they had secret passageways in there that they used to hide the Jews during World War II. there was also for room tapestries porcelain and moat. “Look there” we could see two windmills through the entrance way of the gate she was tired so she dropped me off In Utrecht for five hours I drew and walked around . “Waar is de grote kerk?” That is the only phrase I managed to put together here “where is the great church” it means I figure every town has a great church around which is the city center. curiously enough, churches are rarely open around here. religion has faded away some churches i saw in Utrecht were being converted into apartments. so I sad at the foot of the Dom, then went for hectic bike ride in the canal (there are bike boats) and drew a canal. that’s beautiful, that’s very nice people said. one person even cross the street to see what I was drawing. I have yet to see any artists in the city around here. The funniest is when a French family passed by and said “regardez!”
I decided to give lidy’s grandmother a drawing. I felt guilty for not having brought her gift. Yet I didn’t know what she could have wanted that she could not have gotten herself in Holland. she insisted on taking me to dinner before I left. the Dutch food was great. celery and apple raisin salad, special Raw beef. special spongy chicken. licoriced pineapple.
Her eyes lit up I took out the drawing I did of the Utrecht canals I hadn’t thought of giving it to her until she mentioned that she had never rowed on the canals but she sculled in college and her brother was a champion oarsman in Holland.we talked about Art she had a Bruegel painting in her house and her brother has Rembrandt etchings.
“ why do you think trying in the abstract is not appreciated?”
“ we make paintings to park preserve things like people we like or objects we enjoy. Have you ever considered this as a profession. (I laughed. At the at time I had only been drawing 5 months) are you sure you don’t want this ?”
“ yeah, take the one you like the most “
“ are you sure you don’t want to keep it? you are so nice. this picture will always bring back great memories”
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