My name is Anne Marijke Oruk, I am 68, live in Paradise, California, but I was born in Velsen, The Netherlands. I have only had my computer for a few years, and am quite new at all this. My other hobbies are wildbird feeding in my backyard, reading Fantasy and Science fiction, dragons, gardening and photography. My Dutch is awful! I left Holland in '39, when I was 5 years old. I was born in Velsen, Noord Holland on Jan. 10, '34. I spent 8 years on Java, where my mother worked as a Registered nurse for the Red Cross. My maiden name is Kouwenhoven. My parents divorced when I was 9 months old. My mother's name is Allegonda Elizabet Backer. Her father, Cornelis Adrianus Backer, lived in Indonesia and worked for the Dutch government, researching and catalogueing the flora of Java, for which he received an honorary Doctorate. He lived in Heemstede until he died at age 94. My brother Max Backer was born in Semarang in 1940, and my sister Irene was born in Poerwokerto in 1942. Their father's name was Mick Heugens, who was in the cavalry when the war broke out. We were living in the kampong with one of our servants, the Japanese soldiers had thrown us out of our house, when we were taken by train to Batavia (Jakarta)in 1942, my sister was a few weeks old then, and she never had a chance. She died a few months before she became three years old, just before we were liberated. She is buried somewhere near Tjideng Kamp. She looked a lot like the children from Bangladesh, thin as a stick with a bloated belly and hollow cheeks. She died of extreme malnutrition and Amoebic Dysentery. She was a happy, loving child. Old for her age, as if she knew she would not live very long. I have no picture of her. Just a memory. When the war ended, we stayed in Batavia, where I went to school, until I was sent back to Holland in '47 for my health. I attended an Overbruggings HBS in The Hague, where I lived with my stepfather's sister. In '49, my father took me with him to Singapore, where I went to a High School run by the Church of England Missionary Society (C.E.Z.M.S.) I graduated in '51, with good enough grades to get me accepted into 4 colleges in CA. I chose Mills College, as it was an all girls school at the time. I landed in San Francisco Feb.'53, and have been here ever since! I met the father of my four children at a Christmas party, he was my blind date! My oldest son, Wim, full name William George McSpadden the 3rd, was born in L.A. Nov.11, '54. I wasted no time as you can see! He presented me with 3 wonderful grandchildren. My daughter, Galina Michele, named after my father's Russian wife, was born Nov. 17, '56, also in L.A. She made me very happy with 4 beautiful children. On April 3, '60, I had a son who I named Michael Ian, and nicknamed Janneman. He has a daughter, and a son who died at age 3 months. My youngest son, Robert Colin, was born Jan.10, '64. His daughter is named after me, Marijke. I am a very lucky person, as my three sons live very near me, and I am thus able to interact with my grandchildren, who are all computer literate! And can teach their old Oma a thing or two! All my grandchildren, although total Americans, all call me Oma. I insisted on it. At age 40, better late than never, I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University,Chico. Cum Laude! I am retired, living on a small stipend from the government, and never really did anything with my degree, except feel proud that I am the only one in my family who has one! I have just finished translating a story about an Indonesian dwarf deer from Dutch into English for my many grandchildren. I was given the book by my own grandfather when I was just a child. I want to share with you, the children from 3 to 93, the Fable of the Indonesian Dwarf Deer, also known as the Kantjil, from the author JOH. VAN HULZEN. I love Dragons! Please visit my Dragon Page. Paradise - California This is where I live! Welcome to Dragonmount This is a site devoted to the story of a hero, a dragonborn, who must save his world from destruction by the evil forces. No real dragons in it, but it is a great read, with lots of characters. Discovery Channel OnLine I like this link! Scifi Channel I love browsing here! The exploratorium A great site for everyone! Animated virtual hugs and kisses Some cute postcards. Animated Postcards A guide to animated postcards. Fantacy Postcards An other cute postcard site. Wet Oatmeal Kisses A poem. The Tongue Twister Database This page was originally created to give a good group of tongue twisters to people in speech therapy, to people who want to work on getting rid of an accent, or to people who just plain like tongue twisters. My birthstone is a Garnet, you can get your birthstone here too. « | list | random | » FastCounter by LinkExchange