A SAD DAY

I checked my face book this a.m. while getting ready for our trip into Amsterdam to read that Nathan Miller died last evening, July 23rd. Nathan had leukemia and was really struggling this summer. He needed a bone marrow transplant and was fighting a huge infection. I was to teach him this fall. I taught his brother and know his family well. I lit many candles in Florence for him however, God needed him in Heaven.

We were in Amsterdam for 12 hours. Allison, Nicole, Danielle and I got the train and went to the Van gogh museum. I loved it. All I wanted to do was set up an easel and start painting. I can't wait to get my paints out again. Wow. Then we went to Anne Frank's House. That was another emotional part of the day. We all felt like a weight was on us when we left the house. We were sad. So we fixed that with a stop at a great chocolate store and bought desert for the next four nights. We also tested cheese across the street at a cheese shop. We shopped here and there. I bought three dresses. We also went to the Amsterdam Diamond Center (not its official name). I saw a lovely diamond bracelet for 12,000 euros. I did not find any thing for my family - sorry. I will have to check out the shops in Utrecht for you. We had a fantastic meal for supper at a place called Luden. I had sea bass and it was amazing. We shopped till closing around 7:30 then found our way to the Red Light District. Along the way we saw the ambulance helping a girl on a back board. She was on her bike and had been hit by a car. The red light district was also sad and depressing. It is an eye opener and gives you a very uneasy feeling about society and our modern ideas in regards to prostitution. At first it seems like a tourist attraction and that it is staged, but reality sets in as you observe men making a call to a lady in the window with her red light on. It is very sad and one leaves not really wanting to discuss it for awhile. When we did, as good art historians we talked about it in terms of the sailors and hardships of life in the 16 and 17th Centuries and then in contemporary terms.

So now you understand my title. It was a good day, but full of tears. We were home by 10:00 p.m. and Merit helped me plan my solo trip to Kinderdijk tomorrow. That means an early morning, so good night, I love you all.