August 24, 2003

• [edit*]
  “Palestinians identified one of the dead as Ahmed Shtewe, 24, a member of the violent wing of Hamas whom a senior Israeli security official called the “chief operations officer” of Hamas. The Israeli official said Mr. Shtewe had organized suicide bombings and rocket attacks, and was planning more violence.”
  
  we were the same age for 3 days.
  
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  there’s a thin line between action and inaction. in the blink of an eye, or rather several blinks in hesitation, circumstance splits, like bathroom plumbing. tonite, 2 taxi cabs, 2 conversations.
  
  after waiting for the night bus that never came, i hailed down a taxi and went into town to get some late nite eats. i took a pause to check out the outside of the cab. it was a nice design. a new Euro-exclusive production Toyota model. i got in and decided to ask about the car to start conversation. the driver was this hulking dutch native in his mid-20s. he was a burly dude but was real nice. we ended up talking about a mutual interest in autos for a good 15 mins. until we got to Dam square. by curiosity more than chance, i happened upon a spot that has THE best hotdogs that i’ve tasted to date. i had seconds. then on the cab ride back, i got in a Merc bumping Tupac. the driver didn’t seem much older than me. i was tired and full and wouldn’t have protested a nice, silent ride. but i was too interested in what hip hop was to him. he looked about as young as the first driver, so i figured at the very least, i could stear conversation towards an insider’s take on things to do in the city, we talked about Tupac, what Tupac represented in hip hop, then to the current scene in amsterdam. finally we ended up talking about US foreign policy, minority identity formation [he's Morracan and raised in amsterdam] and the alienating duality of the 2nd generation. his name is Said. when we got to my stop, he didn’t have enough small bills for change so i just gave him a good tip. on account of the conversation on the ride over [and the tip, i'm sure], he gave me an I.O.U. with his number for a free cab ride. “a promise is a promise”. and i’m sure it will–that’s the Dutch.
  the more i think about it, the more i keep arriving at the same instinct and feel compelled to seriously consider moving here completely. simple kindnesses and common courtesy.
  
  this post is about challenging myself.

  • 9:07 pm
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