Oh! Sweet Nuthin’

Den Haag

    I’m in The Hague or Den Haag as they call it here.  I’m 6 weeks into my adventure and will be in Den Haag for 7 days. Part of this travel experience consists of taking lots of photographs, which I love to do. I’ve talked before about how it’s the best medicine to cure what ails ya. The other day I was walking around central Haag, snapping photos on yet another cloudy, overcast day. 

Happy New Year

    It’s been six weeks since I started this adventure and it’s now the longest time I’ve been abroad. The previous record was 1 month in Peru(Lima and Cusco) way back in 1999. That was certainly an adventure. That was through a study abroad program at Brooklyn College. I am now in the Hague, having just arrived last night. My time in Amsterdam, taking care of 2 kitties, Finn and Callie, has come to an end. Being winter time, there were a lot of overcast and cloudy days. It reminded me of Seattle. There were a few days where the sun peaked out behind the clouds to play. Luckily there were only a handful of days of rain. This was my second time in Amsterdam and both times have been in the winter. So the next time I visit will only be in the spring or summer where I can see all those tulips they talk so much about and I can wear shorts. Regardless of the weather, as always, I did a lot of walking and photo-ing.

Coincidence 3?

                                         

Amsterdam Centraal Railway Station

    I sometimes write about things here that fascinate me on some level. I also realize that it might be of no consequence to anyone else. That is probably not the best way to introduce a story I’m about to write and hope will be read but I’m being honest. I’ve written before about these types of things I’ve experienced before(here and here), coincidences if you will. I do find them interesting. This latest experience is about seeing people on the train and then out in the street the next day.
    My first time in Amsterdam was In February of this year. I took the Eurostar from Paris. My seating partner was very interesting. He was by himself as was I. He was dressed very impeccably. He wore a long white, wool coat. He was wearing a perfume of some sort. He had eyeliner. His face looked like the artist’s rendering of an Egyptian Pharaoh from some documentary I had seen. The next day as I was walking around Amsterdam, I believe in the area called Negen Straatjes, I saw my seat partner from the day before. Still impeccably dressed. So big deal. But wait there’s more.
    On my second visit to Amsterdam, which was yesterday December 4th. I had another seating partner on the Eurostar, from London this time. He wasn’t alone. I think there were a total of 5 or 6 in the group traveling together. And they were from different countries. One of them was grandma. He also wasn’t impeccably dressed. Not at all, but dressed how most people dress for travel these days. He reminded me of a former co-worker I had in Seattle. Across from him sat a woman who had a nose ring and green hair. I couldn’t tell if they were romantically involved. Every so often they would lean across the table, whisper things in each other's ears and giggle. They also shared ear pods. Is that love? Well you know what is coming next. Today, December 5th, I was meandering around Amsterdam, and who came walking towards me but my seating partner from the night before. He was by himself, no one else from his group was with him. Not the green haired lady or grandma. He was also smoking a joint. I guess that’s why he was alone.
    Isn’t that weird, to come across both of your seating buddies from the train both times? What are the odds in a city the size of Amsterdam to run into people from the day before on a train? I’m positive that these seating buddies saw me too. Whether it went beyond that moment is one thing but they definitely said to themselves, “There’s that guy I sat next to on the train.” They may have said that “weird dude” or something like that but they saw me too. I guess the thing to do is return to Amsterdam for a third time on the Eurostar and see if it happens again.
    Or maybe I should consider that these experiences aren’t anything significant at all. Maybe coincidence isn’t really anything. We just made up the word because we think things like this are important. We have to put meaning to things. We are so self absorbed. If you take a die and roll it six times and in those six times it displays one thru six, in that order, would you think that is a coincidence? All combinations are possible in rolling that die. In the expansive world, that is nothing. We just made it something because of how we value each number. Getting that combination of 1 thru 6 isn’t harder or easier and is just as meaningless as any other combination. So when I think of my coincidences, am I wasting my time? Am I just trying to find some meaning in my life and distract myself from the harsh realities of life and my own doom in a universe as vast and cold as ours? I don’t know.

Two Weeks In

                                                                                

Beach Huts in St Leonards

    It has been an interesting two weeks on this next phase of my life. One of the subjects that has come up in my thoughts is sentimentality and how it works in my life. There’s nothing wrong with going on a sentimental journey from time to time and reflecting on those special times and tender moments in your life. But for me, I believe it’s held me back at different times in my life.

Death of a Sparrow

    

Sparrow (© Evan Lipton)

    It was a peaceful, beautiful day in Austin. The temperature was in the low 80’s, not hot at all by Austin standards. I had just moved back to Austin the week before and had decided to visit a vintage furniture store on North Loop called Room Service that I used to frequent my first time living here a few years before. I was walking up Duval street in the Hyde Park neighborhood not really thinking about anything. Two sparrows were flying in unison with each other. Right after they flew in front of me and attempted to fly across the street, one of the birds was hit by a car coming down Duval Street.
    The bird that got hit seemed only inches behind and below the other bird. The driver’s side front end, right by the headlight is where the bird met its end.  There was a thud and the bird was thrust approximately 15 feet ahead. I watched it roll over very quickly on the side of the road. The last roll seemed rather dramatic as the bird’s wing stretched out above, almost as an appeal for mercy before it finally came to a stop, all its breath gone.
    I felt sorrow as I looked upon the dead sparrow. I’ve never seen a bird get hit by a car before but as I thought about it, I figured it happens all the time. I also felt sorrow for the other bird who continued on. Had this been a mate, parent, child or sibling. I’m sure it’s part of a sparrow's life, from the time they hatch, to be taught and cautioned about all the different prey that awaits them: cats, owls, electrical lines and cars. I thought about how the other sparrow must have felt deep sadness. I know I’m anthropomorphizing the sparrow but I’m sure it felt something towards sadness and that sadness was felt by the other birds of their flock when that sparrow returned alone.
    As I continued to walk up Duval, I couldn’t help but think of the randomness of it all. It was just a matter of seconds. Had the birds flown straight instead of in a semi circle before they flew across the street, the bird would have cleared the car. Or had the driver started their car a few seconds later, the birds would have been across the street by the time the car arrived at the site of impact. 

If only.