Whitney 091

"Do you mind if I'm asking a few more questions about the years when you lived here?"

"Not at all. I have no secrets. No regrets. No shame either. It's healthier".

"You mentioned the word discoveries. What was the best discovery you made here? And what was the most dangerous moment you experienced here?"

"The best discovery was that I wanted to become a singer and a musician. A performing artist. My bedroom was on the third floor, overlooking the canal and the gardens of the houses on the other side. One warm summer night I heard live music coming from one of those gardens. So I sneaked out of bed and opened the door that led to the balcony that surrounded the third floor. I was ten and my parents sat in the garden so I had to peep over the parapet and remain silent. There was a teenage party going on and two boys with guitars were singing all the hits by the Everly Brothers. They were big in the years before the Beatles and these two boys came pretty close to that sound. But what impressed me most was that they were surrounded by lovely girls in petticoats. Some of the girls even sat at their feet and looked up to the singers. I watched and listened for about two hours until my parents went into the house. That was the night the seed was planted. I did not want to become a scientist, my dream was to become a performing artist".

"And the worst or most dangerous moment?"

"Ah, a crazy idea during a severe winter. We had a sled and it was great to go to the bridge and then sled down to the point where you had to take a turn to the left into our street, all the way home. But one evening the road was full of black ice, or sleet. And I took our sled from the garage and somehow managed to get to the bridge. Off you go.... But there was no way to brake the speed, let alone turn left at the corner. At the same moment a car came from the other side and managed to take the turn to the right, into our street. Neither of us had functioning brakes. I was catapulted at breakneck speed and landed in a heap of snow. The distance between me and the headlights of the car was only a couple of feet. It was a close call. Error of judgement. Nothing compared to my later adventures as a mountain climber in the Alps but it made quite an impression on me. Boys can do crazy things at that age. By the way, can I take a picture? Don't move".

"Sure" (SNAP) "I'm a rock climber myself".