For my dad

Photo: Tineke

Today we laid my father down at his final resting place. Joined again with my mother after 18 years. As we, his children, wrote on the announcement card "Today we give him back to our mother". We have been lucky to have been allowed to have him for the past 18 years, years in which we shared our lives, years in which he became a much loved grandfather of six and three step grandchildren.

A father who had no love for music in any form, although when we were small children he came up every night to our bedroom to sing us the songs of his youth, learned at water scout events or at school. Until he fell asleep first and got up refreshed for the rest of the evening.

There are two artist he liked. Not that he listened to their music, but he liked them anyway. The first Doris Day, the other Louis Armstrong. The latter probably the only artist he ever met in person as Satchmo and his band visited the ship my dad sailed on as junior officer around 1957 in Portland, Oregon. Some of his colleagues had ran into the band in town the night before and invited them over. To everyone's surprise they showed up and had a drink and something to eat on board and played a tune in return. The story is true, we have the photo in our possession.

So picking out the songs for his funeral wasn't a hard task. At the entrance we will play 'What a wonderful world' as this is very true of how he stood in this world, sailed to every port of call imaginable and loved living his life. 'Che sera, sera' by Doris Day is the other one. He left for his last resting place on 'Sailing' by Rod Stewart. The merchant mariner who always came back to his home, to his wife and family. To his cornerstone in this world. By sea or air. This song was our choice, but very appropriate to play at the moment he's rejoined with his one true love.

And then there's that song that we couldn't play in church for decency reasons. A song he came home with in the mid 70s and we all thought, what is this? There he sat singing: "Ik wist niks want ik most pissen" and that other one by the same band: "Oerend hard".

Rest in peace, dad. You'll be missed for your friendliness, hospitality and friendship.

Wo.

This time I let you search for the songs on You Tube yourself.