37 Comments
Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

You have a gift, to paint a picture with words. I felt like I was there with you, slurping the soup & watching the other customers, imagining their lives, as you shared your memories. Thank you.

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

It’s wonderful to be transported via a photo, journal note, music, food or scent in the fragrant air...to a magical place in time.

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founding
Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Idyllic writing.

Surreal yet genuine. Memories of long ago crafted into a rich tableau.

A montage flavored with tastes and smells that define places in time.

A lovely piece evocative of a lifetime of random memories held in the secret places of the mind and heart.

Your writing is reaching new heights. Don’t stop.

I love it!

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

May you always travel back in time and share words that build reveries, extravaganzas or fond memories: “What a lovely time it was, of innocence and confidences”.

Tracey Chapman’s songs, the harmonious blend of spices and the tales of distant lands and untamed adventures also resonate clearly and are my every day’s companions.

Thank you for bringing this fascinating, obscure and transparent blend provoking a feeling of a spinning maelström.

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Thank you for taking me to such a lovely place, Alexander. I can almost taste the Thai soup. :>

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Jun 4, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Magical indeed :) Agreeing with all the other comments!

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

If you’ve always been a writer/observer/note taker, why don’t you consider writing a book with a collection of all your travels and notes. Kind of a geographical memoir. Your music recollections can be your poetry while your knowledge of the environment can become a reason for debate and info for the audience.

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

"Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships." Sitting on the Navajo County Courthouse steps eating Indian Fry Bread drenched in local honey drinking an Orange Nehi. Yep, the opening lines of a new Food Network Show. Lol.

Meeting friends at El Charro in Tucson enjoying Sonoran Cheese Enchiladas "chatas" made with masa, harina, eggs & smoky dried chiles with a required margarita & Mexican Flan accompanied by Mariachi music.

Living in Oklahoma eating fried catfish & hushpuppies with coleslaw by a lake illuminated with fireflies & enjoying home grown watermelon with the one I loved. And one of the loveliest memories: breakfasts in Germany with Strudel, Gingerbread, jelly filled donuts and Frankfurt Wreath cruising down the Rhine smiling and trying to speak to our tablemates.

A beautiful article, Alex bringing back really cool memories of food and friends. You are living the adage: "La vida escorta" Live passionately and feel happiness.

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Stunning prose. Tears ❤

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Thank you. I appreciated your piece today, having been reminded again of the irreversible impacts our species has had on ecological systems (Earth Commission report in Nature). More and more, I savor the decades-old memories of visits to functioning and even thriving places, as a way to buoy my spirits, still hoping we can make the anthropocene less awful for the innocent fellow inhabitants.

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This is fascinating! Spent my night after the Debt Deal relieved so many anxieties, singing along to old favorites karaoke style on YouTubePremium. Haven’t done that in years! So nice the lyrics are provided to give an assist; reviving memories and adventures from the past. Felt so much happier. But without the taste of foods revered like you or in the company of others out for the evening. Great penmanship and mastery of the written word. Keep it coming, please! 😘

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Jun 5, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Lovely! Like taking a mini vacation 😊

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Loved your graphic novel style photo.

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founding

I'll need to brush up on my '80s song lyrics, I think. Didn't speak English back then at all. Also, historical references from that time - not my forte. I do love the storytelling and how memories, historical references, lyrics and the reality in front of you are all intertwined. Well written! Next time I'm in Den Haag, I will have coconut soup and risotto.

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Jun 4, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Poignant. Heady. Ebullient. Reminds me of the early 1990s. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Working at a high-end Italian ristorante. Leftover seafood and fried risotto balls. A midnight snack. Best seafood I've found, that far inland.

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Jun 3, 2023Liked by Alexander Verbeek 🌍

Nice!

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