Netherlander

Whilst I was drinking my medium-sized iced green tea at the cafe, Hans the Netherlander rolled in through the entrance in his wheelchair. He gave me a little piece of sugarless candy. He ordered coffee. He said that he was going to celebrate his friend's birthday at the Greek restaurant Kisamos Taverna in Steveston village, here on Lulu Island, at 6 PM, today the 28th of October of 2021. He called for a taxi. I once ate moussaka in that restaurant. I said that I remembered when Steveston was not so touristy and my mother worked in the bank there in the 1970s. Apparently, his daughter works at the bank there. Meanwhile, a big handsome white man came in through the entrance, then went in and out of the washroom, then took a coffee cup from the counter, then exited the cafe. I then said that I had to go. Hans decided that he would take the bus, instead of waiting for the taxi.

On the 1st of November of 2021, I joined Hans the Netherlander at his table in the cafe. The day after Halloween was rainy outside. Whilst I was drinking iced green tea, Hans gave me a piece of brown candy. He took out a jar of peanuts and offered me, but I said that I get pimples from peanuts. As a child in Quezon City, my family had a peanut farm near our lot; we boiled them, and I ate, as I was not allergic as a prepubescent. We then talked all about astronomy: exoplanets, asteroids, and the moons of the gas giants. Titan, a moon of Saturn, is specially stunning with its black methanic rivers, lakes, and seas. Hans said that the next fifty years will be exciting for astronomy. As we talked, a big handsome man with a muscular build came in, ordered coffee, and left.

The day after Halloween of 2021, at the cafe, Hans the Netherlander and I talked about the polders in the Netherlands and cuisines. I told him that I did my report on the Netherlands in elementary school. I learned about polders. Hans said that Netherlanders ate raw fish. I mentioned the "gravlax" fish dish in Sweden.

At the cafe the rainy day after Halloween of 2021, Hans the Netherlander mentioned to me that Italian food was "acquired taste" for him. He mentioned the method of tenderizing octopus and the way the ink complimented the dish. I mentioned the black squid ink spaghetti. I said that I liked all seafood, including octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, which made him squirm. Then, I mentioned that I liked moussaka, a Greek lasagna-type dish with eggplants. Hans said that as a Netherlander, he liked "plain meat and potatoes." But Netherlanders do eat raw herring.

On the 3rd of November of 2021, it was a rainy, somber day. At the cafe, I found the only open spot at a table near the washroom. There, I drank my iced green tea. At a table beyond mine was a blond student with big biceps with tattoos. Hans the Netherlander rolled in with his wheelchair. I joined him at another table. There, we discussed multibillionaires: Elon Musk's space technology and Bill Gates' medical technology. Then, we discussed the Yucatan. I said that I have been to the temples at Tulum, near a cliff overlooking a white sandy beach, looking like a science fiction set. The other day, he mentioned that Netherlanders ate eel. I suggested that he try the "unagi donburi," sweet glazed eel on rice, at the nearby Japanese restaurant.

Indeed, Hans the Netherlander is a brave man, having had a leg amputated due to diabetes. He does not turn to Christianity because he has a good scientific background and he knows much about astronomy.

On the 11th of December of 2021, I sat in the Christmas-decorated cafe with my oat milk latte. Hans the Netherlander rolled in with his wheelchair. He said that he had eggnog with rum at home, and then it was time for coffee. We talked about astronomy, our real shared interest. The James Webb Space Telescope is being prepared for launch in French Guiana. If successful, it could provide much better clarity of images of space objects. USA, EU, UAE, India, and PRC are all roving on or encircling Mars with their robots. Mars would be humanity's second planetary home, some would hope.

Today on the 12th of January of 2022, at the cafe, I had a glass of black iced tea. Upon exiting, I greeted Hans the Netherlander on a wheelchair a happy new year. We briefly discussed about the ongoing deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope to the Sun-Earth L2 Langrange point. The worry at the moment is about micrometeorites. Incidentally, Hans mentioned a Scottish friend Tom who took a lethal injection yesterday at his hospice because he had cancer.

In the afternoon of the 5th of February of 2022, I ate pizza at the pizzeria. Then, at the cafe, I saw Hans the Netherlander. I told him that the James Webb Space Telescope had been deployed. He gave me a cold mocha frappuccino, to add to my passion fruit iced tea that I already had. Lyle was there, wearing all black, with cargo pants that hid his robust legs. Don was at a front table, reading from a device.

It was Valentine's Day on the 14th of February of 2022, on Lulu Island. In the morning, I had pizza slices at the pizzeria, where Rose the Filipina was the regular vendor. In the afternoon, I drank black iced tea at the cafe, where I talked to my Anglo-Saxon neighbours Barb and Ken about travelling around this world, Mayan and Aztec pyramids in Mexico, the creole languages in the Caribbean, the otherworldly buildings in the Greek Islands, our common knowledge of prestigious French, and our experiences of the Pandemic, and then talked to Hans the Netherlander about the months-long adjustment phase of the new James Webb Space Telescope, the Jovian atmosphere with lightnings, artifacts of Ancient Egypt, lightning-made glass, and dinosaur bones. At the cafe, I noticed two different round-headed stocky men, who came in and out.