Filling in the Holes - Part 1B

Hi Alex,

Today is that most Dutch of Bank Holidays, King's Day. Basically, we're celebrating the King's Birthday and everybody gets a day off. On top of that, there are plenty of festivals and the are Free Markets. Now, the Free doesn't mean that you don't have to pay for stuff, but.... 

Normally you need a permit to sell at a market. Not on King's Day. All you need is a sheet/rug, a chair and stuff to sell. Entire neighborhoods and town centers essentially turn into giant yard sales. 

Family in the States

I know I was a bit vague about my family in the States, but this was deliberately. After all, I'm also putting these letters on the internet and that is full with all sort of creeps and weirdos. So I'm playing it safe. What I will say is that I have three sisters, each with three sprouts and a husband. One of my sisters and her family has moved to States. And that's all I have for you.

I also know that my grandmother on my mother's side had a brothers and sisters, some of whom moved to Canada in the early 20th century. So I figure that by now, there's probably a whole branch of the family we know nothing about out there.

What We Did When

We flew to the US on 16th, which was this weird travel day because of the time difference. Fortunately, we had the 17th to celebrate the birthday of one of my brothers-in-law and settle in a bit. The weekend - 18 and 19 - was NYC time. 

And 20/3 was lunch with Rick and more family time. Finally, 21/3 was our trip to the MoMA and the trip back home. Fortunately, I had three more days off and a weekend before going back to my day job.

And that's all I have for today,

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)

Filling in the Holes - Part 1A

Hi Alex,

Okay, so yesterday, my head wasn't exactly in a writing mood. With the result being that my post was on the short side. I decided to make my previous letter Part 1 and take another stab at it today. (Besides, I'm also trying to dust off my Twitter account and I figured that having two posts to share couldn't hurt.) So, here's today's....well, let's call it an addendum to Part 1...

Lunch

That lunch with my friend was with my fellow Trekkie Rick Clogston. Rick visited the Netherlands back in September, so it was full to see him again. Besides being a Trekkie, Rick is also an excellent singer. He leads the Red Hat Band, which he drags all over to play gigs. 

Rick gave me his band's CD and T-Shirt with their logo. I haven't worn the T-shirt yet - the weather hasn't been good enough - but I do have the CD playing while I'm writing this. It's good. Also, I'm trying to lure Rick into another trip to the lowlands this September. But only time will tell if I'm successful. 

New York Sights

Yeah, the list of New York sights we saw, was far from complete. But even if I had listed all we had seen, it would be far from all of the New York sights. Because we were there for two days and only scratched the surface. NYC is simply too big. You'd need at least a week to get a good look at that city. 

One funny thing....I've seen the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. It always opens with Fallon walking into the studio building and then onto the stage. I also figured that this was some green screen/computer construct. The thing is, we walked past the studio and it actually DOES look like that.

Okay, I think that's enough. Maybe I'll write another addendum tomorrow. Maybe not. You'll just have to wait and see. :) 

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)

Filling In The Holes - Part 1

Hi Alex,

It's been quite a while since I've posted, so I'm dusting the old girl off and filling in some of the holes. Now, without further ado...

New York

Back in 2020, I got together with my brothers-in-law and discussed going to New York. And then Covid19 happened. So for two years, our plans were frozen solid. But 2022 saw things thaw at last. We got back to planning and set the date for March 2023.

The flight out was on 16/3 and the flight back home was on 21/3. And between that, it was great. We spend two days in NYC and saw a lot of great things. Including Brooklyn Bridge, One Vanderbilt and the Museum of Modern Art. 

As for the rest of the trip, I spent some first rate quality time with friends and family who life in the US of A. We had lunch, celebrated a birthday, went to see places and did plenty of other stuff. It was a fascinating glimpse into what life in America is really like.

And that's all for today, folks,  

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)