It’s 18 minutes long, in Dutch and maybe matters to a very tiny handful of people in the world but I’m posting this video here anyway. Suddenly discovering my very sweet oddball uncle Frans in a documentary about him being “the king of the extras” in Holland left me in sentimental tears. I couldn’t stop laughing at them using arrows to show him walk by in all of the different scenes.
Even though my Dutch comprehension isn’t great, I loved listening to him talk about his extra work and his book in his proudly obsessive way. The nifty green typewriter that he bangs it all out on. His sweatpants, backpack and bright red vest. Him shuffling along like he’s wearing slippers and shovelling the front walk in his Canadian Olympic toque. (That part made me burble up big time.) The birdhouse and the wood panelling that my opa built by hand. All the copper tchotchkes and books that I love to look at when I’m there. It’s so weird seeing my family and their home in this context. Good weird, but weird.
I love that it all matters so much to him. That he created a world for himself that he’s proud of outside of being my oma’s constant companion. And that he’s not shy in showing that he saved all of his books from ending up in the publisher’s trashbin.
He’s a delightful weirdo and I love him to bits.
