A Day To Play

Delft, NL

The day began like any other with a swat at a bemused alarm clock and a moment lingering on the remains my dream. I needed water. I needed coffee. I needed breakfast. Thirty minutes later I was reading yesterday's paper enjoying all three. The day held many options and I toyed with them over toast.

I knew two things: I had a lot of work to do and I was tired of working a lot. I considered taking the train to Rotterdam and running in a 10K race. Would the t-shirt be worth it?

My better half, for obvious reasons, had suggested I lose myself in an all-day adventure. Not very practical (for where was the achievement in it?) but a medicine I could enjoy, so I consulted a rack full of colorful brochures and quickly selected a few that promised history and art and real Dutch culture only a train ride away.

And so my adventure began.

My train to Delft. It took 6 minutes.

One of the hardest parts of living in Houston is the September to October corridor. It's Fall, it's back-to-school, it's football and Halloween, it's October Baseball and the start of a new year...and it's 98 degrees and a muggy buggy Texas and that's just all together wrong. It dilutes what I love most about tumbling out of the summer: the crispness and color and allure of the Fall.

In Delft today, it was the best of Fall. I walked from the train past the bicycles and over a small bridge across a green canal and into a city that was alive with color and energy and music. There was an outdoor market. A dance troupe. A chess player. A an old rock band. Women dancing (badly). Children dancing (happily). And the air moved with a coolness that reminded me of football tailgate parties Saturday afternoons at university. It was Fall and I had long been missing it.

I was alone and felt as if people were looking at me because of it. I took some photos. I wandered through the outdoor market. I may or may not have done some (light) souvenir shopping. I found an old church in the center of town and joined a tour. It was in Dutch. I went through a special exhibit on the Dutch master, Vermeer. It was enlightening. I drank coffee and ate pasta and enjoyed the sun and the weather and the noise of the strangers around me. It was a very good day.

Thank you, A.

New friends.

Brief acquaintances.

Cheesy caption.

The only time this poor kid led the whole game.

Real Dutch architecture.

Real Dutch daycare.

Until next time.