<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">=========================================================================<br>L O W L A N D S - L - 23 March 2008 - Volume 08<br style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">
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=========================================================================<br></div><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe"><span class="EP8xU" style="color: rgb(0, 104, 28);">Roger Thijs, Euro-Support, Inc.</span> <span class="lDACoc"><<a href="mailto:roger.thijs@euro-support.be">roger.thijs@euro-support.be</a>></span></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="HcCDpe">LL-L Events<br><br></span><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="2">This week Hugo Claus died.</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><a href="http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Claus" target="_blank">http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Claus</a></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Claus" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Claus</a></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Claus" target="_blank">http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Claus</a></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Hugo Claus was a West-Flemish novelist, poet, playwright...,
writing in Dutch, and well read in both North and South.</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">He had beginning Alzheimer, could not concentrate
enough for continuing with writing, and decided to die by euthanasia
at the Antwerp Middelheim Hospital.</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">In the press selections of his poetry are quoted</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Just one, with my attempt for a translation (quite
difficult for modern poetry, I try to stick to the text)</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong>Verdwaald Liedje</strong></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong></strong></font> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong>Ik hoor de mensen dromen</strong></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong>Amaai zijn dat seringen die ik
ruik</strong></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong>of groeit het grass al op mijn
buik?</strong></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong></strong></font> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong>En ik, godin van de nacht</strong></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong>omhels het jonge kind en de oude
kraai</strong></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><strong>amaai amaai amaai</strong></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Lost Song</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em></em></font> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>I hear the people dreaming</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Wowwow are it lilacs that I smell</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Or is the grass already growing on my
bell(y)</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em></em></font> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>And I, goddess of the night</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Hug the young child and the old crow</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Wowwow wowwow wowwow</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Some of us have doubts on the ethics of Belgian law on
euthanasia, allowing people to opt for it, when still in a fair shape,
Momentarily some political parties have "<em>lowerig the legal age for the
procedure"</em> in their program, allowing also youngsters to end their life in
a controlled way.</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">I cannot avoid connecting mentally with Beethoven's
<strong>Pastorale</strong> as heard in Soylent Green (</font><font size="2"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/" target="_blank">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/</a>).</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">("<strong>Soylent Green</strong>" and "<strong>Nowhere
Man</strong>" <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112104/" target="_blank">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112104/</a>"
somehow shaped my feeling for Republican America, although I guess
wrongly, because of the strongly conservative religious - <em>but maybe
hypocritical</em> - backbone of the Republican party)</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">I personally feel this choosen death of Claus was very
different from my mothers' death. She had her first stroke in 1983 and her
last fatal one on<strong> </strong>Christmas eve in 1999. She had problems with
talking (aphasia) and somehow behaved as, and talked like, a child. It was not
Alzheimer I think, but rather an escape from the difficulty
(or impossibility) of having complex conversations.</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">On the memory print ("doedsbildsje" in Limburgish,
"doodsbeeldeke", traditionally handed out during the catholic memorial mass) I
wrote in West-Limburgish</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Noe-e heur leiste attakske</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Gevoeierd bè ee dermke</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Te veure al loam</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">En kreig nog kalle,</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Zow ees oos Maa</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Treuch wei ee kindsje</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Treuch noe-e Slivenheer gegon.</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.euro-support.be/temp/hl.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.euro-support.be/temp/hl.jpg</a></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>After her last stroke</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Fed by a little gut</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Already paralysed</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>And hardly speaking</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>That's how our Mother</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Again as a little child</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><em>Returned to Our Lord.</em></font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">So we had choosen to live, even with increased difficulties
after each new stroke, till the final call on Christmas eve.</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Regards,</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Roger</font></div><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">