Seen on the Scene

So a very belated happy birthday to America! I hope my fellow citizens celebrated in the usual style and that there was enough beer and barbecue to go around for all!!! It was just another day in the office for me, but I did get a lovely rose from my German co-worker. The irony of this seemed to be lost on just about everyone, including the German himself, but I decided not to push the issue. Nothing will break down international communication faster than jokes lost in translation.

On the weather front: It's still cold. It's still raining ... I should move to Greece, where it's been in the 40 degrees range for the past 3 weeks. (That's 100+ Fahrenheit for the kids across the pond.)

Last night I took a stroll down one of the major shopping streets in central Amsterdam. Thursdays are late shopping days, which means the stores are open until 8 or 9pm, instead of the usual 5 or 6pm. I came upon a crowd of people, standing in the middle of one of these pedestrian-only walkways. Their necks were craned skyward, with their attention focused on a 3rd story balcony of an apartment overlooking the shopping district. A bike policeman was standing on the ground, trying to talk a 70+ year old woman out of throwing herself over the edge of her balcony. Occasionally she would raise her head, refocusing her eyes from the street below to the concerned citizens standing on their balcony just opposite her own. It became very clear that she was in some stage of senility, and wasn't hearing or understanding the words of concern from either the policeman or other onlookers.

To be honest, I'm not sure what the outcome of this was. I didn't want to be there to witness a worst case scenario, but there has been no news of disaster on the Dutch evening news or in the morning papers, so I can only assume that the situation resolved itself. I had decided to walk in the district to clear my head after a stressful day at work. Walking away from the scene, though, was one of those moments of self-awareness where things get put into proportion for you. My day was nothing compared to that of the old woman on the balcony ...

Other interesting sights:

• A hand-drawn poster announcement in the window of a daycare center just around the corner. Featured prominently is a crude drawing of a muscular man wearing purple tights and a pink tunic of some description. In a child's happy scrawl across the top it reads: FLAME! The Musical. What culturally-astute children they raise here!!!
• A tourist in Centraal Station wearing a T-Shirt that reads: Procrastinators - The Leaders of Tomorrow
• An article in this morning's edition of Amsterdam Metro about Dutch children leading the continent in general consumption of alcoholic beverages. My elementary understanding of Dutch didn't reveal all the details, but I was somewhat relieved to ascertain that they were referring primarily to beer drinking. Whew! Gin-addled 10 year olds running wild about the canals don't make for good tourist copy.

Tonight - if the weather holds up - there will be the 10th annual Skate Amsterdam, in which in-liners, old-fashioned toe-stoppers, and any other wheel-footed people will meet and skate throughout central Amsterdam. Since I left my own baby-blue suede Puma skates at home, I won't be participating ... but I'm planning to find a "rink-side" cafe and enjoy the sight!

'Tis all for now. Tomorrow - I'll have pictures!