Last evening Hilda______and I had dinner on the roof top of the Hilton Double Tree Hotel in Amsterdam.
Only three days ago Hilda_, a lovely lady in her fifties, and I were sitting in my kitchen having coffee. Often people. who had heard I have unlimited money that can ONLY be used for travel, came to Ben and me for help. Now I am a widow and don't have my sweet Ben's input as to what I should do. I didn't even know Hilda, myself: she belongs to a church where some of my former Humes High School classmates go; and they recommended us to each other.
Hilda was crying. Would I take her to Amsterdam? She needed to find her daughter who had disappeared from a church youth group's four day trip to the Netherlands. Their main goal was to visit Haarlem, the hometown of Corrie ten Boom.
After the plane landed in Amsterdam, the young people had the afternoon free to look around before boarding the bus to go to the real destination.
Hilda explained, "It is Gretchen's dream to become a writer. She wants to experience as much of life as possible." She said that foolishly Gretchen and her boyfriend, Mark, left the group looking for excitement. They happened on the red light district of Amsterdam
They went into a coffee shop where people were smoking pot;
they seemed so very happy that Gretchen was enticed to do the same. They gave her some free weed and offered it to Mark who refused. She had never been anywhere before where there was even alcohol, much less pot and had never even smoked a cigarette. Quickly she was feeling quite wonderful.
So they saw little of Amsterdam. They did NOT see
Dam Square
Royal Palace,
nor Skinny Bridge
nor the oldest house in Amsterdam
nor any other sights their friends were seeing.The afternoon passed right there in the coffee shop. Gretchen seemed alright, even HAPPY, but it was almost time to board the bus to Haarlem. Mark could not persuade her to leave..she pushed him away, saying "Leave me alone, Mark!!"
..He went to the group leader for help; they both came to the cafe; but nobody admitted to having seen her. Hard to believe because Gretchen has red hair and bright blue eyes and a delightful laugh, that could never go unnoticed. So distraught and panicked, the leader and Mark contacted the American embassy and boarded the bus for Haarlem. They were on a tight schedule and would fly home in two days.
Straight away, the embassy contacted Hilda and Gretchen's stepfather and the Amsterdam police. The church members began praying for this sixteen year old girl. They feared she might be dead or worse.
And now Hilda and I are actually in Amsterdam, in an expensive hotel, (as you know on my pretend trips, I only stay at the BEST);
we had dinner on the roof having a lovely meal (I also only eat the best on my pretend trips.!)
In real life I sleep on the Greyhound Bus and eat from Burger King!!
We are planning our strategy. This is my first trip when the best hotel and the best food don't seem to matter one bit!!
In my backpack is a drab blonde wig and nondescript clothing for Gretchen to change into., when we find her.
As I know more, I'll tell you more....
Love, annie with Hilda in Amsterdam
no wooden shoes!!
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I am rereading what I wrote all in one day last week. I feel like I have actually been through it all, myself. Hope others will read the next three parts.
ReplyDeleteI mean I wrote and lived all four parts the same day; this is roughly the time Hilda and I were in Amsterdam. This is the shortest pretend trip I have ever made. Norway was the longest...going on and on and on.
ReplyDelete