A better life – column

Herman must have been forty. But nobody really knew that. A big, quiet bachelor in whose life his mother was probably the only woman. At least she had brought him up so well that he took good care of his household and himself.

His only notable features were his huge mustache and his quiet passion for pre-war two-strokes. He visited motorcycle fairs and motorcycle museums. He was also never afraid to help fellow hobbyists. But further? Furthermore, Herman was virtually invisible with an almost virtual social life. The eternal man in the background. At meetings and parties he listened from the second row. With a neat half full glass in hand. He never left first. But not last. The comment “Herman, is he gone by then?” belonged to every party Herman had been to.

Until that evening in Woudenberg. At an informally arranged club meeting. There was someone called Gemmeke. With growing annoyance she looked at Herman, who was listening in as usual from the second row. Then something broke inside her. She approached Herman, grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him out of his listening position like a harbor tug does with a tanker. Started talking to Herman. After a while Herman started talking back and the other partygoers looked surprised at the phenomenon of a busy talking and emphatically gesturing Herman. They had never seen him like this before.

Little Gemmeke stood like a rock in the surf in front of him. A small curious crowd gathered around the couple. He heard Herman say: “But you don't mean to say that I am handicapped because of that? Then come along! Then I'll show you!" The unlikely couple disappeared inside the bathroom. The public remained civilized, but highly intrigued outside.

After fifteen minutes a glorious-looking Herman came out with a radiant Gemmeke in his mighty wake. Herman's huge mustache was gone. With his long upper lip and his wistful look, he resembled Jaques Brel in the big picture. Looked twenty years younger. He got pats on the back and compliments. When the emotions had calmed down, he withdrew to his familiar second row. Without a mustache, but with Gemmeke by his side.

And damn if it's not true. They have been inseparable for three years now. And Herman was recently seen in a menswear store. With his Gemmeke shining in the background. A man is just what his Love makes of him.

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