Patina

Nobility. Old money. Upper class. The patina of generations that transformed the parvenu or nouveau riche into old money. Usually three generations. 

I am never able to see a King, Duke or Baron without asking myself: who was the parvenu that brought you the money and (noble) titles?

Did you know that William I (1028-1087), 1st King of England, was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy? And that he gained his title by conquering England?

Did you know that J.D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) made his money with oil, kerosene and gasoline?

Did you know that Duarte Pio, 24th Duke of Braganza (born 1945) descends from an illegitimate son of King João I who gained his titles by intrigues?

What do you think? What made the Spencers rich? Picture below: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer  (born 1964) before his Althorp House.

Fringe

This week I realized that the image that best describes my mindset and reading-habit is: rafelranden. It's an image in Dutch. In English translated best with 'fringe' or 'outskirts'.

My Fringe on people:

• Hermit and nerd Armand Schulthess (1901-1972) who created his 'Library of Knowledge' around him.
• Financially independent noble Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba (born 1926).
• South Sea trader and writer Robert Dean Frisbie (1896-1948).
• Voice in the wilderness Ton Lemaire (born 1941) who lives alone in France and who asserts that 'homo sapiens' is collectively trying to commit suicide on planet Earth and that we need a more spiritual orientation to our planet and universe.
• Writer Gavin Maxwell (1914-1969). More
• Father Ho Van Thank and son Ho Van Lang who hid themselves for 40 years in the forest.

My Fringe on history:

• Stone age in contrast to our mechanized world.
• Ancient Egypt in contrast to ancient Greece and Rome.
• Neoplatonism in contrast to mainstream Christianity.

What's my point? It gives my life color and light as I engage myself with people, periods, books and languages that are not mainstream in my country and society. Thereby I appreciate what I have. It makes me realize - time and again - that nothing is given and everything comes from somewhere and has its own, individual story. It makes a normal and mainstream life, my life, better intelligible.

Without Preconceived Plan

Our holiday came to an end. How fast four weeks of a holiday pass. I don't dislike working but I prefer living in a steady state of 'dolce far niente' #dream #romantic.

I successfully finished the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen in my first week. 4 days x 50 kilometer. Pretty though! I fought and survived the demons of laziness, pain and sleep. For four days: Walking. Eating. Sleeping. Nothing else. I slept at my mother's place. My two sons visited me for a night. They cycled all the way from N to P, with the two of them, with the help of a map #ProudDaddy.

On Saturday in my second week, I fell from a stepladder. It caused terrible pain in my back. For two days I was hardly able to walk, sit or sleep. Not able to read. I only watched TV and fell asleep every now and then. After two weeks the strongest pain eased. Thank God! But I am still not fully recovered after 3 weeks.

Last week of my holiday we renovated 2 bedrooms.

The weather in The Netherlands was tropical. Kids played with their friends. Swimming. Watch TV. Playing games on computer and iPad.

I did not read one of the books I planned to read. I started with re-reading - I read it 15 years ago for the first time - Ton Lemaire's 'Wandelenderwijs'. A book on walking. After finishing that book, I read five other books without a preconceived plan. 

And now? Now I am in the mood of re-reading Johnny Frisbie's 'Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka, the autobiography of a South Sea trader's daughter' (1948). And finally read her father's book 'The book of Puka-Puka' (1929). I bought this rare book, 12 years ago, for more than USD 170 but never read it.

... - you know.