I will be spending some time in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. I'm thrilled to finally be able to visit all three places. I've been to Amsterdam before but did not have enough time to venture out of the immediate city. France and Belgium are new for me. I better learn French. Fast.
Anyway, one place that is on my 'bucket list' is to visit my Grandfather's (17 generations back) tomb at Nieuwe Kerk in the Netherlands. My grandfather x17 was William the Silent who the Dutch relate to much like our George Washington. I remember hearing stories about him as a young child way before the internet and getting the impression that he was a 'bad man.'
Well, he definitely got around and managed to marry multiple times and father even more children with wives, servants, etc. I am one of his bastard offspring. I think there is still resentment lingering somewhere in the family stories. I guess Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned.
As I grew older I began to study his life and figured out that perhaps he was a hopeless, horny womanizer; he was also a celebrated rebel and went against the establishment. Gee. I guess the apple did not fall from the tree - even 17 generations later. What *really* freaked me out was seeing a portrait of William the Silent for the first time. Damn. My dad looks just like him. Eerie. One would have thought that so many combinations for genetics over the generations would have washed out such a striking resemblance.
My plan is to visit Delft, Netherlands and Nieuwe Kerk to have a silent, heart-to-heart with Grandpa. I think he would be proud that some of his seeds sprouted to carry on the rebellious spirit and questioning authority. I want to deliver that message personally to his grave. Nobody will know what I'm doing as silence is something we are both extremely capable of. Making a spectacle out of myself and drawing attention is not in my being.
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