Talking about
a father’s wish for his son or daughter to follow in his footsteps reminded me
of my father’s wish for me not to become a carpenter or anything to do
with the building industry.
When I told
him that I would not mind taking an apprenticeship in carpentry and building he
baulked and said (In Dutch of course):
“Ik heb liever dat je een dief wordt dan timmerman!” (“I would rather
you became a thief than a carpenter!”).
When I
questioned him on his outburst he reminded me of the harsh conditions in
wintertime when they had to work in half completed buildings where wind and
snow or rain came roaring through the open spaces.
“En hoeveel keer heb ik je ooit gevraagd om m’n
werkschoenen uit te trekken omdat ik zo stijf en koud was dat ik het zelf niet
kon doen?”
(“And how
many times ever did I ask you to pull my boots off because my body was so stiff
and cold that I could not manage it myself?”)
And he was
right. But I still did not know what I wanted to do.
It just so
happened that a young man across the road from us went to sea as radio
operator. He had studied during the war and passed his exams but obviously
could not sail from Holland. But he went to sea after the war. When he came
home from his trips I used to talk to him and ask questions about the work a
radio operator does on board a ship. It all appealed to me very much and I
asked my Dad if I could go to the Radio Holland Training School in
Rotterdam. We
made some more enquiries and he agreed although the fees must have been a real problem for my
parents. My mother had
second thoughts but she realised that there was a future for me
and she relented!
The rest is
all history. I spend the happiest ten years of my bachelor life at sea and I
still treasure my memories.
John
Papenhuyzen