He can’t turn water into wine, but boy, does he know how to play Reggie.

Stevie arrives to the store, eyes blazing, legs shaking.
He just came from the Canary’s this morning.
– My man!
I smile and attempt to do a handshake, but he falls of his bike during parking.

“Bhro, I’m so fucking high right now” – He says, as if tumbling on the concrete floor didn’t give it away.
– Let’s get some snacks then. – and so we went in.

It took around 7 minutes to choose which chocolate will be the winner of the day.
When you’re stoned, everything seems tasty – even the things you despise in a sober state.
JUST PICK SOMETHING – The inside of my head screams, but you can’t change the volume of the thoughts you’re having.
Go ahead and try it.
Can you whisper or shout in your brain? Nope. The volume stays the same.

When the cashier asked for the money, it suddenly hit him:
“Bro, do you have cash on you? Can you pay? I forgot my wallet m8“
At this point I felt like a Daddy taking care of his clumsy kid.
– Sure, do you need diapers as well or you can wipe it already? – my mind wants to mock him.

Freshly stacked with snacks to counter the munchies, he is about to take me on a road-trip.
He hands me a helmet, which had most of its parts broken or missing.
As he leaps over the seat, his giraffe legs kick the helmet out of my grip. A sudden laugh fills the air – an old man behind the window witnessed how this 2 dude is completely incapable of leaving the fucking parking space.
He looks at us, we laugh, and he flashes the rock & roll sign, with his wrinkled fingers and sparkling eyes.
God bless you old man, the show is done for tonight.

As usual, he drives well, regardless of the THC in his system.
When we get to the park, the sun was just about to set. We occupy a seat on a bench and he prepares the spulletjes¹
While he rolls his first solider, we start to talk about our future.
– Do you know why people never achieve theirs dreams?
“Nee, vertel me²“
– Because they don’t even have any. Just listen;

An old man was approaching with a dog on a leash.
– I’m sorry Sir, if you were given a wish, what would you ask f-
“I d- d- don’t believe in those things!“
– Oh, I see; Thank you, have a nice evening.
He didn’t even let me finish. Probably he lost his patience, considering that he was above 80.

Our second attendee came along 10 minutes after the first one walked away. This time he was in his mid 50’s. A fluffy brunette was scampering around his legs, enjoying the lukewarm evening in this quiet place.
– Excuse me, if you were given a wish, what would you ask for?
He kept walking for a solid 15 seconds before he turned around and said:
“To meet my mother once again.”
– That’s a beautiful wish, thank you very much for sharing it.

This certainly had a little more depth to it, in fact, it made me shed some tears before everyone else would show up to blaze some haze.

It’s still not allowed to have emotions as a male, ain’t it, 2019?

When people started to gather around us, a third participant showed up on the scene.
Rasta hair, Guitar on the shoulder, Jesus-like face.
– Excuse me Sir, if you were given a wish, what would you ask for?
He puts his hand on his chin and starts to think.
– Take your time.
“Hmmm…“
– No rush, really.
He lays the guitar on a bench and keeps brushing his cheeks.
“You know, currently I’m homeless… I’d ask for a home, a place to stay.”
A painful answer we thought we’d never hear.

He looked anything but homeless. Looks can be deceiving, I admit that, but this guy was well above the “hobo-standard”.
After a few unconscious nods and long gazes, he decided to rest his head on the guitar and stare at the World’s ceiling. There was a short silence, which I broke with a question aiming at his past:
– How did you end up here?

Turns out he came to the Netherlands because he was living in a war-zone in Africa, and that just couldn’t be sustained. He was 8 when they came here. After going through things none of us should ever see (let alone kids) he ended up being a Reggie player, and his stage became the World in its entirety as he wanders from place to place.
It’s been a long journey for him, no question about it.

It makes you think about the daily things. The ones that piss you off or cause you to stress in any way. Isn’t it so annoying to miss the train because some dude walked slowly? Or something brakes. The fridge, the coffee-machine, or your laptop’s enter key.
Terrible, terrible things. Existence is pain.
By the way, have you been in a war-zone lately?

The last member of the crew rolls in. His appearance was a mixture of a burnout college graduate with a touch of punk activist in his mid 20s.
Milan, who looked like 26 was in fact a high-school student who was just about to turn 18.
He couldn’t escape being asked the same:
– Milan, If you were given a wish, what would you ask for?
“Are there any limits? Like Gravity, or Physics?”
– No, Nothing.
“So basically anything?”
– Exactly.

He was sharp like the sword of the Japanese.
Proper English combined with witty thinking, one of my favorites.
His wish was a magic wand, which can summon up anything he needs – but only once a week, with the dimensional limits of 2x2x2m.
A bit materialistic, but still creative. He is 4 decades behind the previous attendees.

“I would like to change my wish…” – A sound comes from our forgotten Reggie King
“…I would wish for…that… all the kids in the world would have a good upbringing.“

Half an hour of deep thinking and this is what his heart came up with.
This is humane.
A person who barely has anything would sacrifice the only thing that could change everything. If you give people time, their greed might dissolve and turn out to be something as warm as a Lover’s Kiss.

– That’s a beautiful wish indeed. – We all agreed.

“So Milán; isn’t it Italian?” *He switches to Dutch dit keer³*
– It’s actually Maximilian; I was supposed to be Mohammed. My mom wanted that; but my dad disagreed:
“No, we’re not gonna give him that Name.
I don’t want to wait 3 hours at the airport every time, and then not get on the plane.“

Everyone who was present bursts into laughter and tears.
Even Jesus cracks up and starts to giggle on his wooden instrument below his ears.
It was the best real-life joke I’ve heard in decades.

When we finished laughing, an old Man was about to pass again.
Since it started to get gloomy, we didn’t want to come off creepy, but the question of the day remained:
– Excuse me Sir, if you had a wish, what would you ask for?
“Gezondheid⁴” Says the Man without thinking; he was in his 70s

Can you see the pattern?
Not a word about money, power or fame.
Family, health and making the World a better place.
That’s what people wish for here.
With this insight, are you sure that money will make you happy?
That counting your fortune will save you from the grief of losing the ones who were very near?
That having more likes per post than the entire population of Spain will make up for an aching back or the fading memories?
These thoughts are indeed heavy for a Story like this, but we have to talk about what is truly important as we age.

Here is your chance to prevent those mistakes – Love the ones who are still here and take care of your body. After all, you’ll be living in it as long as your heart beats.

This is when Stevie remarks something that twisted the whole evening:
“Dude, it’s so weird that your hair is pink” – He says, while exhaling a cloud of lemon haze.
– Wha… OHHH. OOHH MY FUCKING GOD – I COMPLETELY FORGOT IT!” – I cry out loud, as the fact of the day hits me.
“I know man, it’s crazy“
– And all those people took me seriously. I cannot believe it.
None of us did, actually.

Our Guitar Hero wakes up to the loud pondering, packs his things and asks for a little money. Milán immediately offers to give him some of his, and I realized that this way I could finally get rid of all the coins that are clogging my wallet.
When he received the money, his eyes lit up as if we’ve just saved a girl from dying.
I wish you would’ve seen him walk away. He was full of energy, a kind of person who could face Hell and still go through it.
At the corner he turns around and shouts at us with a big grin:
“If you ever need a song, you know who to call!“
– GHOST BUSTERS! – I want to shout, but probably no one would get it.
We thanked him for his offer and wished good luck on his journey.
Who knows, one day we might hear him sing.

When he disappeared, I took a quick look around me.
Joints were flying from every possible direction of the wind.
It didn’t feel like the place where I want to be, so I let Stevie know that it would be great if we could leave.
There was one last Twix in his hand, which we split, and started packing.

Stevie was smart enough to bring shorts, which meant that he was going to freeze in this could autumn evening.
*Tip of the Day*
If you take cold showers regularly, you’ll be much more resistant against the weather and feel more comfortable on a daily basis.

We hopped on his motorcycle and left the team.
It took less than 15 seconds until he started to bawl and scream.
“WHAAAAA, WHAAAA” – That’s all you could hear as we drove through the streets. His battle roars didn’t keep him warm, but shame did.
When we got a red light, he rubbed his thighs like tomorrow didn’t exist.
The second we got to the bike stands he jumped off the moped and started to emulate an earthquake. “Command: Generate heat” – The body says.
One quick handshake and he leaves.
No more gorilla howls for today.

The night was still young, so I decided to walk a bit.
Arnhem is a huge town, and the streets are filled with Life in the evening.
When I reached the center, something astonishing stunned me:
A man carrying his wife. On a fiets⁵.
She was standing behind him, gorgeous and tall, while his man was handsome and sharp.
If there is any secret to Love, they knew what it is.
Even in their 40s the spark was still there to warm their relationship.
Without a doubt, this is the kind of Life I find the most fulfilling.
To all those who keep chanting “romance is dead” – come here, watch this and convince me that the truth isn’t the opposite.

This is how our Story ends today;
But before we finish, let me ask You one thing:
What would you ask for, if you were given a wish?

Take care,
Erik

15.09.2019 – Day 237

[Dutch Dictionary]
Spulletjes¹ – Stuff
Vertel me² – Tell me
Dit keer³ – This time
Gezondheid⁴ – Health
Fiets ⁵ – Bicycle