Hans van Dam de Burgum turns one hundred years old today. How does the indomitable tire and bakery salesman remember what life has thrown at him? “No matter how crazy he seems, sin always comes back.”
Today, like every morning, Hans van Dam’s electric alarm clock rang at 7:15 sharp. The fit centenarian then gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom in his townhouse in Burgum. “I want to wash, get ready, and be ready before the thússoarch comes to heal.” As a decent gentleman should.
Quite a task considering that Van Dam is completely blind and lives alone and independently. “Of course he was thinking about it. And skjin”, he emphasizes while having a cup of coffee at the high table where he talks about how he has coped with the situation since he lost his sight in 2018. He always cooked himself, but today comes Tafeltje Dekje. “I had to fill my fingers with it, but it just doesn’t pour.”
Visual impairment is difficult, but it doesn’t keep you housebound. Every Tuesday morning he can be found in the “weight room”, where he trains with fitness equipment. “Fannemoarn here I have cake for my companions who are there.” And twice a week he goes for a walk with acquaintances.
Travel through history and the world with audiobooks. “I felt some pain again. I’m sitting in the middle now Secrets of the sea Jan de Hartog fan. About the life of the tugboat in the port. If he saw those books, he would be optimistic.”
Narrator of deep loves and great sorrows
Van Dam has a happy and positive character. He is a man of stories who likes to tell at length about his rich life, filled with poverty and hard work, crushing fear, unwavering perseverance, deep love and great loss.