I have experienced a number of things in my earlier days that made some people wonder whether God looked after me on those occasions. These are some of my "adventures".

• Towards the end of WW2, as a very small child, I once climbed over a fence that gave access to the dunes just outside The Hague, Netherlands. I remember that a policeman shouted something but I could not hear what he was trying to convey. So, I walked on and eventually climbed over a second set of fences and found my self on the beach. Promptly, another policeman grabbed me and I was taken to a police post. There I was treated to a cup of hot chocolate, an absolute luxury in these days. Some years later I finally understood that I had crossed a live anti-personnel and anti-tank minefield, which were part of the sea defences.
  
• On 1 January 1945, A German V2 rocket narrowly missed our flat where we lived. There were 25 dead and 50 wounded. Many houses and flats were destroyed and all windows in our street were blown in.
• When I was 17 year old, I and a girlfriend from Dutch New Guinea were caught in a rip when swimming in the North Sea in Scheveningen, The Hague. It was 1.00pm at that time. As the afternoon wore on, it became clear that we were not going to make it back to the beach. We could not see the boulevard anymore and only just could make out the top of the lighthouse. It became dark and by that time we started to worry for the first time. However, in the last minutes before total darkness set in, we were rescued by the water police. We had been in the water for 7.5 hours and were both suffering from hyperthermia. We were rescued, because the incoming lighthouse keeper customarily swept his binoculars across the sea and thought that he saw something. He warned the police who rescued us an hour and half later.
• In the same year, I swam round out of the harbour (yes, English spelling) when a fisherman waved at me. I waved back and suddenly he ran away. I continued to swim. Minutes later I heared a terrific roar and I saw a huge wave bearing down on me. I dived under and when I emerged again, it was very dark and the wind was howling.  I could hardly see the boulevard and the sea had become exceedingly rough with large waves. I made it back to the beach although another swimmer drowned in the same stretch. It was a water tornado, which cause quite a lot of damage.
• In January 1960, we were caught in the worst hurricane of the century off the coast of New Foundland on board of a passenger liner. Seas were running at 90 ft. We saw a New Foundland fishing boat climbing a huge wall of water, making it to the top and then disappear in a cloud of spray and spume. Some 30 seconds later, we saw the same vessel bravely climbing the next swell. Twice, we listed 60 degrees despite the ship's stabilizers, which was 10 degrees more than the design limit. This hurricane lasted 48 hours and a lot of crockery on board was eventually smashed together with everything that was lose.
• In October 1998, I suddenly lost consciousness when I was at home. I came to and refused to have an ambulance called. I thought that this was one of those things that will happen to you sooner or later. However, my condition deteriorated and I was taken to hospital. I underwent an emergency splenectomy. My spleen had voluntarily raptured and I lost more than half of my blood in my stomach. Again, I made it back but not before I also suffered from a severe pulmonary embolism as soon as I got out of hospital. My left lung had collapsed and I needed another week's hospitalization. I am now still left with a large hernia in my stomach but specialists deem it uncessary to operate on me for the time being.

Well...., these are some of my adventures that flirted with death. I am now grateful for every day that I am alive.

Tags: Adventures

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