My Name Is Jasper

Rhymes & Reasons

So you speak to me of sadness

And the coming of the winter

Fear that is within you now that seems to never end

And the dreams that have escaped you

And the hope that you've forgotten

And you tell me that you need me now

And you want to be my friend

Rhymes & Reasons – John Denver (253)

The sky is ablaze.

My gaze wanders from my Asian-Western fusion meal to the heavens on the other side of the glass wall of Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

The spectacle in the sky can only be described as if two orchestras are dueling to the death. One dark, one colorful. Shards of bright orange and pink cut through the growing darkness. But it is all in vein. Every seconds the colors recede. It won't take long until nothing is left.

The dark conquers. But always just for a little while. In the morning, light will bounce back and reclaim its lost territory. What a show. What a magnificent view.

I can't believe I'm still witnessing these marvels in November! Will winter ever come?

...

I came to Paris. The city of light. The city of love. I'm here for work, but it has been four years since I visited this majestic metropolis, so I promise myself some downtime as well. But before I even got to the French capital, I was able to add a few days of Belgium to my trip.

During my stay, it was my mom's birthday. I was looking forward spending it with her and my family. That weekend at home flew by with no remorse. Those days were brilliant though. The Saturday I arrived, I went to support my soccer team – Royal Antwerp Football Club – together with mom, dad, Bram and some of the people I grew up with. That night felt like a reunion of some sorts. At the game were some of the finest people my home town has to offer. Ken, Tom, Ellen & Jens. All good friends of my old korfball club. Sure, I hardly have contact with them anymore after moving to Canada, but I can't even start to explain how fun it was to see them again. They were all there when I left for Canada, and I know they'll be ready to meet up whenever I'm back in Belgium. Ken and I (well, Ken and my brother) go back the longest: we really grew up together at the Korfball Club. In our pre-teens we would often have sleepovers, which resulted many times in the scary appearance of the Giant Condom... It's not as bad as it sounds.... Those were the days.

Jens is a bit younger than the rest of us. I remember some of us pranked him once at a ski trip, putting dish soap in his beer, but he professionally didn't even flinch when drinking the questionable cocktail. All he said was: "Mmm, this tastes a bit funky." He possesses a catchy enthusiasm, that makes you like him very quickly. He did try to feed me salted grasshoppers once. I guess it's fair to say you never really know what to expect with Jens, but that's what makes him such a great guy.

His sister, Ellen, I must have known since I was 10 years old. I'll admit it, back then our almost into puberty Jasper had a crush on her. She became one of the smartest ladies I knew back in Belgium, and I always enjoyed being her friend. Even if I never really told her that. It was great fun to see her come along to the soccer game that night.

And then there were Ken and Tom... I already mentioned I knew Ken the longest. He and my brother were very close when they were very young. The same age, but very different. They were a bit of a peculiar couple. My brother was ridiculously tall for his age (at any age) and Ken, well, he wasn't. I've known Ken as long as I live. And when I was roughly 18 years old, I got to know Tom.