Quote by Connie Palmen

“In the village where I was born, most people were quite simple folk, as were my parents. There were only a few prominent residents: the mayor, the doctor, the notary and some members of the aristocracy who lived in manor houses on the edge of the village. The children of these prominent citizens were different. They didn’t run; they walked upright and bashed their knees in falls a lot less frequently. They had different toys as well. We had spinning tops, balls and elastic. They had a diabolo, walked with books on their heads and later they were given a horse. Our kind of children played from the age of ten in the brass band; they were given piano lessons at home and on Sundays they would listen to Peter and the Wolf. There were differences: you could see that instantly. But ours was the majority and from belonging to the majority we derived our pride and strength. Looking back, this strikes me as odd. At university, all the prominent children of the country had come together and now they formed the majority. They had walked about with books on their heads and they all knew >Peter and the Wolf backwards. Theirs were tales about the decline of the aristocracy – some of these were quite hilarious. It’s the way you tell ‘em.”

Quote by Connie Palmen