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ART GALLERY |
The following display
reflects Brent's first memorable trip to Amsterdam, one of Europe's
most exciting destinations.
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Yes, Amsterdam is a permissive city, with legal sex and drugs perhaps across the street. But this view alone is incomplete. Amsterdam is actually a
triumphant social experiment – a stunning, unsurpassed collection of
Rembrandts, Van Goghs, cafés, museums, culture, canals, and, of course, the Dutch
people. They relish life more than the citizens of most Western countries and feel least guilty about its pleasures.
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The Dutch word for this is gezellig – a sentiment – someplace allowing good times to happen. A two-hour leisurely Latté with engaging friends
would be quite gezellig.
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If this gallery serves no other purpose in your day, let
it remind you to experience this time in your life to its fullest. The Dutch are.
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Just
after a heavy rain, I left a cafe to look down on this street tableau from
a canal bridge.
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How
very strange to find this outline of a child's body. Did a child draw it,
or is it the outline of a corpse?
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Chalk
art on brick, as if the flower it suggests:
illuminating and ephemeral. |
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Amsterdam's Coffeeshops serve much more than coffee.
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Boys
will be boys... |
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I
call this abstract neon interpretation Dueling Pigs.
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To
behold a genius in morning light. This is Rembrandt's studio, his easel in
the foreground.
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A
dog and his master travel down an Amsterdam canal toward their private OZ.
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This intrepid runner looks as if
he's competed in
all 31 Amsterdam Marathons.
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I'm glad
they're doing all the work, and I'm just taking pictures. |
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Give
me some hair, some long, flowing hair!
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Look closely! Something is
amiss.
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The
best theater is often street theater, whether gregarious...
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...or
introspective. |
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Sadly,
I was destined to miss a traveling European circus, scheduled to open its
tents the week following my departure, but I found the circus of
construction activity equally entertaining. |
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She
played softly, unaware of the threat to her safety.
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One
lascivious male friend asked, "How are the Dutch women?" My
answer: "Here is a typical example..." |
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"...and
here is another. As you can see, they all are full of life." |
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And
the band played on ...
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Is
there a lecherous wax voyeur checking out the tourist? |
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Travel
helps us learn about other human beings as they interact with their
culture. Blond women repairing a bike, for example, tell me a lot about
Amsterdam: its Northern European gene pool, the huge popularity of
bicycles, and a sense of sisterhood reaching beyond mere necessity. |
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Alone
but together. |
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At
the END of a long day, we really enjoyed our hotel.
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