Once a month, the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild has an event called 'Art in the AM.' Three artists of any mode offer a piece of their work, and then three writers per piece offer their interpretation, nine writers in total. Hearing the various responses to the same piece is fascinating and stimulating. Then, our talented musician, Stuart Vining, sings a song he has selected that the art reminds him of. So, for September, I chose to write about this photograph by professional nature photographer Sharon Denny. 
We are just finishing up Date #19, several months into our 5th year of this LAT - Living Apart Together relationship. Looking back here is a poem Maggie was inspired to write on the 5-year anniversary of Date #1. Enjoy and look for more posts soon!
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Fisherman Painting Anne Buck Maggie wrote this essay in September 2023 to read at "Art in the AM," an event with the Rehoboth Beach Writer's Guild in Delaware, USA.
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Date #12. Maggie is in the Netherlands with Jan in his new home. The schedule so far this visit has been more ‘stay-at-home', which means days of eating home-cooked Dutch food (did I say potatoes?). “Construction workers build polders and cities with this food,” Jan said as he placed the dishes of freshly prepared Stamppot on the table.
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We love adventures. Stringing together the bits that make this long-distance relationship work, Priority #2 is, We Love Adventure. We both know at a deep level that life is inherently filled with risk, that stepping off a cliff into the unknown can bring great benefit, or maybe disaster, it’s a risk after all. But sitting paralyzed in fear of the unknown is the biggest risk.
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Jan found this guesthouse while making plans for his business trip to Bonaire. He booked it on a hunch that it would be perfect. We started the adventure with our traditional toast of champagne! It turned out John and Kim, owners of the Oasis Guesthouse are amazing, knowledgeable, charming hosts. They bought this place 5 years ago and added all the warmth and beauty we could possibly want. 
Two dates and new things happening in our lives since we last posted, so we have lots to share. But today we are again two months 3815 miles apart. We video chat every day. We miss each other. And every once in a while, whether we are togther or apart, Jan will say...
Greek food is so good you always hear. First on the list was me asking Jan if there was anything I could bring from the States. Bourbon he quickly replied. It is hard to find in Europe. I wanted it to be special and surprisingly found this 12-year-old, highly rated, bottle at the local liquor store in Longneck, DE. He didn’t open the bottle in Greece. He would look at it affectionately but saved it until he returned to the Netherlands. He poured himself a glass of Oozo each evening. Naturally, it's Greek!
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Date #8. At last. After 30 weeks and 6 days apart we are together. Jan, if you didn’t know, is a genius kind of guy that created a better way to turn plant and animal waste into natural gas for fuel and safe fertilizer for food production.
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Gisteravond was Jan een van de weinige afgestudeerden die werd geïnterviewd tijdens een Zoom-meeting voor de Heart Core Leadership-training die we allebei in 2019 hebben gedaan. De kwestie van de leeftijd kwam ter sprake. De jongste persoon aan de lijn was 21. Vóór de training had ze altijd het gevoel dat ze ‘dit’ of ‘dat’ ‘ooit’ zou willen doen, maar ze was ‘te jong’. Last night Jan was one of a few graduates interviewed on a Zoom call for the Heart Core Leadership training we both did in 2019. The question of age came up. The youngest person on the call was 21. Before the training she always felt like she would like to do ‘this’ or ‘that’ ‘sometime’, but she was ‘too young’. 
Flying high over clouds of culture and phantom need to separate strangers
beyond a degree of common sense
a plane glides towards Amsterdam
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Nederlanders hebben de afgelopen weken uitdrukking gegeven aan sociale afstand en quarantaine. Het is "Skin Hunger"; het verlangen om een knuffel te krijgen, iemand aan te raken, te kussen. We hadden onze eigen versie daarvan voordat het Covid 19 Virus zijn mars over de planeet begon.Met 3815 mijl tussen onze huizen hadden we een geweldige tijd van januari 2019 tot februari 2020 voor een paar dagen of weken achter elkaar. Elk evenement noemden we een date; zes tot nu toe, de kortste 5 dagen, de langste 31 dagen.
The Dutch have created an expression in the past weeks of social distancing and quarantine. It is "Skin Hunger"; the longing to get a hug, touch someone, kiss. We had our own version of that before the Covid 19 Virus began its march across the planet. With 3815 miles between our homes we had a great time from January 2019 through February of 2020 meeting for a few days or weeks at a time. Each event we called a date; six so far, the shortest 5 days, the longest 31 days
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16.398 kilometer. 11 uur tijdsverschil. We kijken elkaar aan via onze telefoons tijdens ons nachtelijke WhatsApp-videogesprek. Maggie is thuis in Delaware. Jan is in Jakarta, Indonesië.Flash back:. Afgelopen januari in San Miguel de Allende. "Hoe zit het met ons?" waagde Jan het na onze eerste 24 uur samen te vragen; terwijl we zij aan zij in het prachtige appartement vol authentieke Mexicaanse kunst zaten.
Read more...10,189 miles. 11-hour time difference. We look at each other through our phones on our nightly WhatsApp video call. Maggie’s at home in Delaware. Jan is in Jakarta, Indonesia.Flash back. Last January in San Miguel de Allende. “What about us?” Jan ventured after our first 24 hours together; sitting gently side by side in the beautiful apartment lavished with authentic Mexican art.
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De halve maan van februari blijft hangen boven een horizon die zachtjes wordt verlicht door verre hotels. Gekleurde lichten flikkeren onder het zacht kabbelende oppervlak van het zwembad. Twee-en-drie verdiepingen tellende flatgebouwen, elegant afgewerkt in roze stucwerk met gebogen bogen en witte kolommen, creëren een cirkel van schoonheid rond het zwembad.The February half-moon lingers above a horizon gently lit by distant hotels. Colored lights shimmer beneath the gently rippling surface of the swimming pool. We sit at a small round table with the ever-present Aruba breeze tousling our hair and moving the fronds of tall palm trees scattered throughout the expansive patio.
Er was magie in die eerste nacht. En we hebben veel gelachen.We vertrokken de volgende ochtend (na koude douches - een kortstondige sanitair foutje vreemd goed getimede - LOL) hongerig en enthousiast om de stad te verkennen. Onze gastheren stelden een klein restaurant voor, Via Organica, op korte loopafstand van het appartement.
Read more...There was magic in that first night. And lots of laughter too. We headed out the next morning (after cold showers -a momentary plumbing glitch oddly well-timed- LOL ) hungry and eager to explore the city. Our hosts suggested a little restaurant, Via Organica, a short walk from the apartment.
