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May 18, 2005
fleamarket + man at the jazz concert
we were walking through the center of den bosch last sunday, after we'd been to the fleamarket. i was looking for old medium-format cameras at the fleamarket, maybe i'd get lucky and find a treasured rolleiflex or yashica, and there were a couple of fodors in not-working order and polaroids and lots of super8s but nothing interesting otherwise.
i bought a wasabi-green 1950s zenith bowl for a tenner, bargain... also got a couple of 1960s/70s droste chocolate tin cans, with these lovely graphics on the sides.
in den bosch, a jazz festival was underway and the city was packed. we were squeezing our way through the busy streets when i had to pause and wait for denise and robert to come through the crowd. i noticed a well-dressed man standing near me by the heineken beer caravan.
he wore a smart corduroy blazer, in a navy blue that reminded me of my sister's school uniform in london. under the blazer, a cease-free white shirt, striped with thin blue and brown lines. his trousers were neatly pressed, shiny brown leather loafers.
dark blond hair, ruddy face, clean-shaven, maybe in his early forties, he had the face of a well-fed, preppy guy who probably was private-school-educated, whose parents owned a brownstone house on one of amsterdam's central grachts, and probably drove a bmw z3 (such a hairdresser's car, says robert)...
he held his pint of beer in front of him and his hands were really really filthy. his fingers was streaked with dirt, dirt under his nails, the skin dry and cracked. and the thing is, it looked as if he'd washed his hands, not like the dirt was fresh, not that he'd had to change a flat tire on the way to the jazz festival.
i wondered if he was a housepainter like robert's dad, whose hands are generally clean but permanently calloused and quite rough to the touch, or if he was a gardener or landscape artist, or just generally someone who worked with his hands, if he liked to sculpt with limestone or wood or maybe he'd been installing a new kitchen for his wife at home.
anyway. just my thoughts. i realise i miss working with my hands. i wish i made more stuff, designed more tangible things.
Posted by Yasmina at May 18, 2005 08:48 AM
Comments
happy birthday, girl! maybe, a finished hands-on project could be one of your birthday resolution. 27, huh? it's three-cubed! only happens twice in your life (unless you can reach 256 years old)...
Posted by: thalia at May 18, 2005 04:55 PM
Nice writing! This description u wrote about the guy with dirty finger(nail)s... made me drawing a mental picture about him hehehe...
Woah... vintage stuff hunting yah bu... mmm must be some cool stuff you have bought there... *again.. making mental pics in my head* Oh yaaa.. thanks a lot Yazz for your comment on today's post @ SUsje's ;-) naah... this job can't be compared to the one u offered laah.. next time u meet client in Amersfoort, let me know! I'm gonna work so close by Phillips! >> Amersfoort Schothorst
Posted by: Lely at May 19, 2005 03:02 AM
I loved reading this also, Yas! It got my imaginative juices running! Plus it got me wondering about taking some pottery or woodworking classes or something. ;D
Posted by: Kathya at May 19, 2005 10:01 AM
Yasmina!!! If I hadn't opened the comment book of my Freddy pic entry, I wouldn't have known you left your mark. Halo Scan screwed up again...How do you know Andreas' better-looking? Did I ever show you his Friendster or did you find your way to it? Well either way I couldn't agree more...And his teeth are far better. Toothpaste-commercial perfect. And why don't you sign your name Mrs. Kertoeven (is that spelled correctly?) instead of Miss Yasmina/Haryono?
Posted by: Nana at May 19, 2005 04:25 PM
