CAROL TAYLOR
BROWN SUGAR
WANDERLUST
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 Me in Amsterdam DOUBLE DUTCH I hope you enjoy Double Dutch. It is a story I wrote for Oneworld Magazine's Sept./ I'd just come back from Europe where I visited about 7 cities in about two and half weeks: Rome, Tuscanny, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, Munich. I fell in love with Amsterdam and extended my stay there. I felt an immediate kinship with the city of Amsterdam. The misty mornings and the early evening fog rising up off the canals that ring the city central. This is the story I was inspired to write. CONTRIBUTORSSapphire, Pamela Sneed, Natasha Tarpley, Jabari Asim, Tony Medina, RM Johnson, Leone Ross, Reginald Harris, Marci Blackman, Kwame Dawes, Lisa Teasley, Michael Gonzales, Lois Griffith, Chris Benson, Diane Patrick. CONTRIBUTORSTananarive Due, Nelson George, Zane, Bernice McFadden, Timmothy McCann, Shay Youngblood, Sandra Kitt, Willie Perdomo, Jenoyne Adams, Preston Allen, Yolanda Joe, Leone Ross, Nicole Bailey-Williams, Michael Gonzales, Kathleen Morris, Rebecca Carroll, Shawne Johnson, Reginald Harris. CONTRIBUTORSWanda Coleman, Patricia Elam, E. Ethelbert Miller, Lolita Files, Karen E. Quinones Miller, Trisha R. Thomas, Michael Datcher, Sharrif Simmons, Denene Millner and Nick Chiles, Lisa Teasley, Preston Allen, Tracy Price-Thompson, Lori Bryant-Woolridge, Michael Gonzales, Raquel Cepeda, John Keene, Leone Ross, Miles Marshall Lewis. |
DOUBLE DUTCHWhy do I love Amsterdam? Maybe it’s because the Dutch enjoy life the most and feel the least guilty about its pleasures. Unlike the Germans only a few hours away, who take the least pleasure in life yet feel the guiltiest about it. And unlike the awful French, who speak English and just won’t, Amsterdammers all happily speak English. In fact most Dutch speak three or four languages, so no matter where you’re from, you’ll find someone you can talk to. I’d been in Amsterdam for two months and had decided I’d never leave. I’d fallen in love with the delicious ganga, and the even rows of sharply dressed houses pressed up tightly against each other. I also loved the glittering canals and the cheery houseboats bobbing on the water at night, lit from within like fireflies in a jar. I’d fallen in love with a society that allowed for freedom of choice and welcomed everyone no matter their race or circumstance. I even loved the packs of seagulls screeching over the canals and playing tag on the sparkling water. I’d also fallen in love with the strange beauty of the Dutch people. Actually, I’d fallen in love with one Dutch in particular. Read the rest in Oneworld Magazine Sept./Oct. 2003! |
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