Peace Soup

On July 30, 2006, after more than a year of preparation, Stan Morris left behind his home in Sacramento, California and committed himself to full-time volunteer assignments. This decision would lead him to small towns and cities on the East Coast of the United States and of Western Europe, living for nearly five years in New York, Germany, and The Netherlands...

Both the musicians of Musicians Without Borders and our own IFOR staff have been asking me about us having a going-away 'borrel' (cocktail party) in my honor. I continued to tell them for weeks "absolutely not," as I dislike that sort of thing and that I would rather "just walk out the door like on any-other day." Since it's now also Easter week, my dear friends (more likely Arjan and Lilian) decided to have a Pasen luncheon, instead. This then, of course, soon turned into the inevitable going-away borrel:

Merle had prepared a large pot of "peace soup," in reference to a joke idea that I had made up months ago about a soup we would all make, me starting the pot off early in the morning with one ingredient of my choice and each person throwing in whatever they wanted as they arrived at the office. She had actually found on the Internet a recipe called Peace Soup, and it turned out delicious. Srdan got his guitar out and talked me into singing the same, two old Dutch songs that I know everyone is tired of hearing, but still seem to get quite a kick out of the act.

Then Jane, the MwB office manager and the same person that took me with her to the house concerts when I first arrive in Alkmaar, presented me with a MwB tee-shirt, CD and postcard picturing "De Waag." The musician all signed the back of the card, saying some very nice things that I didn't expect. To not be out done, Arjan next surprised me with another tee-shirt, this one from the IFOR staff, and embedded on the front was a large photo (above) taken the week before of all of us, as a parting gift for my photo album.

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