HANGING OUT IN AMSTERDAM: SEARCHING REDLIGHT DISTRICT BY DAY

                                   DAY TIME IN AMSTERDAM


The only explanation I have that I could sleep so well is that I was completely exhausted when we got to bed last night. I was having a pleasant dream of home, when the cell phone rang.  Almost 7:15 as you can see on the clock in the picture. Someone hung up?
Wrong number? How?  Was it Gretchen who didn't recognize an unfamiliar voice and hung up? We decided Hilda should answer the phone if it rang again. But the phone didn't ring again.

Everything looked less ominous in the sunlight. We had room service bring us coffee, juice, and sweet rolls and we nibbled. Being daytime we didn't ask for anyone to escort us, thinking we might look less suspicious by ourselves. Of course that was silly..a middled aged lady and an 80 year old lady in itself would look suspicious!!!
v
We went back to the coffee shop where Gretchen had last been seen and ACTUALLY ORDERED COFFEE. We  told people we were a family seeing the Netherlands together, when the granddaughter decided to go for a walk by herself and got lost. We passed around Gretchen's picture.
                                                . fac simile

Finally a young employee in a wheelchair said, "Yes, I did see her. She was trying pot for the first time...she was here quite awhile then got a headache and the munchies, wanted to eat. Her personality became different, hostile.  Hester, who works here, took her to her place where she could eat, then lie down and sleep it off.  Your granddaughter  is so pretty and has such a nice laugh." 
 fac simile

He spoke good English. "Hester might be on duty again around two o'clock. "

Finally we were getting somewhere!!! But where? Was this girl to be trusted.  So again we left the phone number and name of hotel.

Then we walked for awhile viewing the district in the daytime, looking for any sign of Gretchen, whom I had never met but come to love.

  

Although a few girls continued to scratch on the windows for customers, for the most part the red district was quiet during the morning.   

We were amazed to learn that the Rossebuurt neighborhood is in fact one of the oldest and most beautiful parts of the city with long winding narrow, cobbled streets and utterly charming l4th century architecture.

                           
                           
      

 .

We went back to the original coffee shop to get a light meal. 

Some people recognized us and were friendly.
A few people spoke English, and we learned a lot about the 200 coffee shops in Amsterdam. For one thing they cannot serve alcohol, if they sell pot...they have to choose one or the other. Also, they can't sell to someone under eighteen. 

  We decided to eat something, wait for Hester and rest...we actually did not see anyone smoking dope....maybe having an old lady present is stifling...haha.

We ate this: not sure exactly what it was...maybe fish filet with lots of stuff on it. It was good!!


At two o'clock an attractive oriental looking girl arrived for work.   fac simile
HESTER! THE ONE!!!!

We introduced ourselves and asked if Gretchen was still at her place. She tried to look confused and stuttered that she didn't know what we meant. We showed her the picture and told her a CIA agent was at our disposal if she did not cooperate with us.

 Both Hilda and I began to cry from disappointment. The girl seemed to be moved...but nevertheless, ran out the back door.

Again we left the phone number and name of our Hotel with all the employees.  We asked for Hester's address but nobody seemed to know or admit they knew it. We were too tired to find her apartment or room anyway...but that would be next.

When I know more, I'll tell you more.
love. annie

so far...no tulips ...no wooden shoes 
...no Gretchen.
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HANGING OUT IN AMSTERDAM...Where is Gretchen?

                     


                                                                              




Last evening Hilda______and I had dinner on the roof top of the Hilton Double Tree Hotel in Amsterdam.
 Under different circumstances it would have been so wonderful...beautiful view of Amsterdam and wonderful food. But Hilda and I focused on our plans to find her missing daughter, Gretchen. 



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
  so far no tulips 
no wooden shoes!!    more IMPORTANT...so far no GRETCHEN.


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HANGING OUT IN AMSTERDAM; SEARCHING REDLIGHT DISTRICT BY NIGHT!

      Hello, to my many stranger friends, whom I have never met. I am pleased that going on 400 people have read this little pretend trip I made to Amsterdam. Wonder how you happened on it as you surfed the internet??? Here goes........annie
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I always thought if I ever got to Amsterdam, it would be with Ben to see the Rembrandt  museum. 
                       


Hilda and I had only been in Amsterdam a few hours when we went upstairs to the roof of our hotel and ate here, as I mentioned yesterday.

As we walked into our hotel room around eight pm, my cell phone rang.

It was my old friend from Humes High School, Larry, retired CIA agent. Ben and I had helped him in a minor way in Poland and he had helped us several times on my trips. 
We had become good friends. 

"Annie, this is Larry. Sorry you couldn't reach me. I have been in South America and only just now returned. What is the problem?" I explained to him about our reason for being in Amsterdam. 

He said he would be in touch with the embassy and could even come over, himself...if..? .I assured him it wasn't necessary. So he said that his son could send an agent or local policeman to our hotel immediately to escort us to the Red Light District, to assure ourselves, Gretchen wasn't  there.

We were glad to hear of the help; neither of us could go to sleep anyway, wondering if Gretchen was in the RLD. Not an agent but an Amsterdam policeman out of uniform arrived:Pieter. We were grateful that he spoke English.

His blonde beauty was wasted on Hilda and me... fac simile
but his understanding  kindness was so appreciated. We arrived in Red Light District around ten pm. Pieter mingled among the crowd showing a picture of Gretchen,
 fac simile
speaking mostly in Dutch, English or French. 
People responded, "Nee, Nee."

We first found the coffee shop where she was last seen by her boyfriend, Mark 
       fac simile  of shop where Gretchen was given the marijuana 
               I left my cell phone number so I could be reached if Gretchen were seen

We learned from Pieter that the mayor has allowed the 220 coffee shops which sell marijuana and Hashish to tourists to continue doing that, but to no one under eighteen. It is now technically illegal, as of this year,  yet tolerated by the government. 

 No one seemed to remember anything about a beautiful teenager with red hair and blue eyes and a captivating laugh.

. Then the panorama of it all floored and sickened Hilda and me.
           

                     

                   There are approximately 300 one room cabins with window rented to prostitutes to use in their work.
           
          Pieter pointed out that from noon to midnight (sometimes as
late as two am,)  girls stand behind windows trying to attract attention of the men walking by. If a man  sees one he likes, he knocks on her door. Then if there is a financial agreement, the curtain is closed for a time.

                 A lot of tourists were simply walking along gaping at what
            they were seeing, while Hilda and I were tearful. There was
             a "hen party" group of middle age women having fun and
             some Japanese businessmen. More than half the clients
             are foreign...tourists, business men. Wonder if they take it off their
                   expense accounts??!!
        
               


 v     
                               Some seemed amused at seeing an old lady like me!!!


 
As you know, I am almost 80 and Hilda is in her mid-fifties...and neither of us had ever seen anything like this before.  but Hilda and I walked along with  Pieter, looking for Gretchen and thankfully didn't see anyone who even resembled her.. Yet we were crying and praying for these girls in the windows who were somebody's daughters and .......and had so little hope for the future. Most girls in the windows were under thirty &  looked as if they were from foreign countries...not sure.

Pieter encouraged us. "Since Gretchen has only been missing a few days, she most likely isn't being held against her will, but hiding or fleeing as best she can. Could she just be embarrassed? The coffee shop where she was last seen has followed the law and not been in any trouble in the past."

Pieter gave us more information. Weed in Amersterdam is legal but not cheap. As of 2012 it is not supposed to be sold in coffee shops. But the shops are well tolerated by the government. Tourists might find the prices very high. Pot in Amsterdam is purer and stronger than in America. He admitted many foreign girls are forced into prostitution. But so far he felt optimistic about Gretchen...no sign of her on the street and he had not heard anything through informers.

We thanked the lovely dutchman  as he left us back at our hotel. 
It was near dawn. 

We would sleep a little and then start out again...confidently praying we would find Gretchen that day.

Hilda and I are tired but hopeful...when we know more, we'll tell you more. Love, annie

so far...no tulips ...no wooden shoes 
...no Gretchen.
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WINTER EVENING by WILLIAM BENJAMIN BREWER (1933-2012)

There ought not be  a sight as sad
As just-set sun in winter.

Glow is weak upon the land
And darkness now indicative futures
Will enter, come, will be,
Will seek her paths like spreading water
Into every minute fissure
To the very cross paths of our garden
Where the sadness grows
And cultivate her glory
Under cover efficacious
Of the deepened darkness.
There she looses legion pollen,
Spores persistent what will thrive
Upon our fertile earth,
And germinate they will and flower,
Nourished by the tenebrae.
        And we with dawn
Will find ourselves once more,
Amidst her flowers.
Blossoms without perfume.

          There ought not be a sight as sad
As just-set sun in winter.

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As you already know, Ben died on Good Friday, April 6, 2012.  I came home from the hospital and feverishly looked for any scrap of paper with a note to us. Instead I eventually found a loose leaf notebook with a treasure of poems he had left for us... never read by anyone else before. I share this one with you 
with love, annie
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I just wrote these remarks on face book and want to add them here.
Winter was Ben's least favorite time of the year and just-set-sun was the time of day he hated. Yet I think this is one of his most beautiful poems. Every time I think of him quietly, privately heart-writing these poems just to leave to his family, I am overwhelmed with love.
Thank you, Ben, you were one of a kind, for sure!!
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One more thing to add: I have published quite a few of Ben's poems and photos of paintings...and I think he would say, "Enough is enough!! Knock it off for awhile." So if you don't see any more poems for a few months...I am letting the poem book have a rest...maybe at a later time. Love, annie in memphis
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Ben around 21. 1956.
A good likeness...so beautiful to me.

Remembering WILLIAM LEROY CALDWELL (1937-2012)

William Leroy Caldwell...My little brother was 75 when he died tonight at 9:30 at a beautiful hospice in Altameda Springs, Florida.

I am the only one living who remembers when he was born.

 Nobody remembers when I was born.

All my childhood memories on Decatur St. are tied in with Leroy and Jerry (the younger little brother now 70.) I have always been just crazy about both of them!

Leroy is the brother who petted the lion at the Memphis Zoo,

 who was in the story about Daddy operating on our chicken, when as a four year old ran in and told Daddy that a "varmit had bit" our chicken

who was in my blog entries annieinmemphis.blogspot.com about Christmases in Memphis, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1944.

who when young was mistaken for Elvis Presley one time in a cafe in East Tennessee by girls who were giggling and pointing to him. The waitress told Leroy and he simply put his finger to his lips as if to say shhhh, then ran like crazy to get away from them.


             
who always said when a kid that he never wanted to get married because he would get an ugly girl...and alas, married one of the most beautiful and best girls in the world. Shirley Ann Murray.
And had a wonderful son, John Paul.

who grew up in Speedway Baptist Church in Memphis and also was in the boy scout troop the church sponsored  &  who also received the blue cape and sword as a Royal Ambassador when 12 years old


who went to Humes High School and who studied at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee

who was in the US Army, stationed in Europe

who was pastor of Waring Rd. Baptist Church. Amazing that he with a few church members and mostly Daddy built that building, themselves. Everything except electrical work; Daddy even did the plumbing.

who one year went from village to village in India preaching to small groups who might gather. A young boy who played the guitar went with him. He also traveled extensively in the Near East.

who some years ago had an early morning Christian TV program and was highly praised by Marguerite Piazza, when a guest on the show.

who had a playful, wonderful sense of humor....and one time when I said I wish we could see each other more often...he said I was with him all the time!!

My husband always said Leroy and I were like twins...not in appearance or the same age even
but still alike in so many ways. If that is true it was a privilege to be his twin.

Shirley said that before Leroy died their son said, "Did you see that?" She did. They saw a bright light zip across the room at the hospice. They believe it was the angel taking him home. 

Love, annie in memphis....God is good all the time...Blessed be the name of the Lord.
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REMEMBERING THE CARDBOARD FIREPLACE

                                     
                                         


December 3, 2012. 

It is quite cold in Memphis this morning; I awoke around 3 am and then plain got up at 4. 

I am thinking of an especially  beautiful time among Christmas memories. 

More than 40 years ago we had a cardboard fireplace we used for Christmas in this very house. 

We put it against the west wall of our dining room. I remember Roy, ben(son), and I would sit on the floor right in front of it and just gaze at the pretend fire. It was made by one light bulb, behind turning wheel of red, yellow, orange, behind a cardboard simulation of fire. We could almost feel its warmth.

 We just sat there and looked at our special fire for a long time usually after supper when it got dark.!!! 

I don't know what happened to that cardboard fireplace; I still have it in my memory...a sweet memory, indeed.!

Just saying...as I remember...love, annie

If you have a memory you want to share, send it and I'll add it to my blog. Meanwhile....be enjoying every single day. God is good. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
                 old7lady9blogger80@google.com
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