Chapter XXI - ABOUT GRITS, PICK-UP TRUCKS AND GUNS

I felt at home in the United States, I loved everything about it, the people, my new family, the food, the space, the nature, the roads, the ocean, walking in the evening on the beach and seeing nobody for miles, only families of giant sea turtles, learning to cook all those great American dishes. I met all kinds of people, Vietnam veterans, WW II veterans, Native Americans, Greek immigrants, Italian Immigrants, Polish immigrants, Southern people, Amish people, New Yorkers,

I also met squirrels, snakes, armadillos, groundhogs, deer, manatees, raccoons, and an alligator.

New to me were drive-in banks, drive-in convenience stores, the taste of the best beef in the world, heavenly Maryland tomatoes, too many choices of everything, politeness in traffic, an abundance of stop signs, you can turn right on a red light, people asking "how are you today" all the time, giant sandwiches, Big Gulp 7 Eleven drinks, food everywhere 24/7, patriotism, Big Boy's all you can eat breakfast restaurants, electric shopping scooters in the supermarkets for disabled and fat people, you can buy lobsters in the supermarket, Blue light specials, lay-a-way, bouncing cheques, stop for a school bus, lots of signs everywhere like "$50,- fine for littering", "Shoplifters will be prosecuted", "Wait to be seated", "School zone, this is a drug-free area" and in Target "You are not only a customer, you are our guest".

It never came to our minds to go back to the Netherlands, but then we had to.

Patricia had some health issues, which the insurance companies called "pre-existing", so you have the disease already therefore we will not insure you!

It was not a decision easy to make but not having access to healthcare did it.

The plan was made, I would go first to find a job and a house.

The next day I was having a cigarette break with my colleagues Aaron and Steve, sitting on some upside-down 5-gallon buckets and I told them the moving news and the reasoning.

"How about you come with me to Holland Steve, I will find you a job with me and a space to live, we will have fun and make some money!"

Steve came from South Caroline, he was tall and slender, and he had freckles and the straightest hair a person can have, he called himself a redneck, and he loved drinking too many beers and smoking too many cigarettes.

It was quiet for a minute, I guessed that Steve was thinking it over.

"You guys have grits over there?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so, we might have it, but nobody eats it".

"How about guns, can you have guns?"

"No, no guns allowed, well you can get a permit, but you can't carry a gun"

"You have pick-up trucks in Holland"

"No, not really, I've seen some, but it is not common to drive one"

"NO GRITS, NO GUNS, NO PICK-UP TRUCKS, I AIN'T COMING!"

"I will miss you, Chef"

"I'll miss you too, Steve, you are the chef now, I taught you everything you need to know"