‘m listening to sirens.

Well, right now I’m listening to the Dutch Youth Choir on the Monarch Baroness, our ship for the next few days. But those aren’t my only sirens,

This morning, we woke up to a notice on JB’s phone that our home alarm was going off. And it was five hours out of date. Well, crap. So I called my brother (whom I sell short in every regard, and unjustly, since he really comes through for me). 8 am Amsterdam time is 2am Orlando time. But he drove across town and checked things for us, walking the property and checking our doors and windows. No evidence of break-in. He called me on the way home to give us the comforting news. And for that, I have to retract a lot of implications (that he is a twat). He came through for me.

Of course, over the day we found out that the alarm company had called my sister-in-law, who sent the cops out five hours before my brother had gone out, to pace the same perimeter that he’d paced. And the pet people were aware and checked things the next day. No evidence of what might have happened. A ghost story, just like Tram 1. Spooky.

The cool Bantam fighter, which just missed getting into World War One. Like the Germans needed ANOTHER superior Allied fighter to tangle with.

After all this in a crazy morning, we managed to just get aboard the tour bus before it went to the Rijksmuseum; the alternative was getting our asses across Amsterdam on a rainy morning to a riverboat moored somewhere near the central train station by ourselves. But we made it and enjoyed this primary museum, seeing Rembrandts (and even a Bantam Biplane (a Dutch fighter that became operational in 1919)). It was really a nice day. And then we got into Dutch traffic and took over an hour to get to the ship. Wish I’d had a bike.

The sun was out now so JB and I went back over to the Central Station (located nearby) to nose around the stores again. And good thing for that – the book store I’d passed (assuming it was all Dutch) actually had a sizable selection including a number of Japanese cat novels (including another offering from the woman who wrote The Traveling Cat Chronicles). So much to read now.

“The Dutch Masters” by Rembrandt. Always loved the standing guy, looking back. “Sign right here. Trust me”.

Came back and lounged on the back of the boat, drinking cocoa and eating cookies like the Queen of Sheba. A nap and then dinner, meeting up with Pat, Mom and a Chinese couple who really didn’t know what they were in for (Mom and her “seawall” diatribe). Then we went to the lounge and listened to a group of Dutch kids sing really popular songs (really, Piano Man? That’s a pretty adult song for teens. And they knocked it out of the park).

So as I write this, they are wrapping up with Let it be by those singing kids, and I’m going to have to give the kids an ovation because, God help me, they were really fun to listen to. So anther good day (if the home alarm holds true). We’ll see what happens tomorrow in our final day in port.

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Datsa my boat!