When we moved to Courtland Park in 2005, we continued to drop little Sammy off at our caregiver’s home in Sandy Hill on our way to work. He knew the routine, the neighbourhood and the children (one of whom was Cargo), so it seemed smart to keep that constant in his life. He was just two and a half then and not yet talking about wanting to go to school instead. That would come when he turned three.
So every weekday morning and afternoon, we took the Queen Elizabeth Driveway through the Experimental Farm, along the canal and into the old neighbourhood. On the way, we’d pass by this statue and shout out in unison, “Hi, Two Hats!” Over the months, the joke was embellished a little (“It’s cold outside! Put on a hat!” or “Make up your mind, already! Choose a hat!”) but I don’t think we ever missed a hello. When we were 10 seconds out, we’d tell Sam which window to look out of and he’d get his shouting voice ready …. “Hi, Two Hats!” We didn’t know what the real name of the 15-foot statue was or why it stood there overlooking Dow’s Lake.
During Winterlude, Sam and I strollered down to the marina to check out the festivities and decided to take a closer look at Two Hats. To my surprise, we discovered that his name is actually “The Man with Two Hats.” So “Two Hats” seems a reasonable nickname. He stands as a monument of thanks from the Dutch government—not only did we lose 7,000 soldiers in the liberation of Holland during WWII, but we provided safe haven for Queen Wilhelmina, who gave birth to Princess Margriet at the Civic Hospital.
The Man’s hands are raised in joyful celebration of freedom, though his face is melancholic—subdued by the memory of the lives lost in the war. He’s encircled by some of the 20,000 tulips that the Dutch government continues to send to Canada each year as a token of gratitude and friendship. To underscore the countries’ historic connection, an identical statue stands in Apeldoorn. I read all this from the plaque next to the monument. Sam seemed to take it in, and then he added solemnly, “Yes, and he also has big feet.” True.
These days, we drive by Two Hats maybe twice a month en route to a weekend breakfast at Elgin Street Diner. We still interrupt our conversation to throw a communal shout out to our old friend. Nearly four years later, and it still makes us all smile to remind him that he hasn’t yet put on a hat.
So every weekday morning and afternoon, we took the Queen Elizabeth Driveway through the Experimental Farm, along the canal and into the old neighbourhood. On the way, we’d pass by this statue and shout out in unison, “Hi, Two Hats!” Over the months, the joke was embellished a little (“It’s cold outside! Put on a hat!” or “Make up your mind, already! Choose a hat!”) but I don’t think we ever missed a hello. When we were 10 seconds out, we’d tell Sam which window to look out of and he’d get his shouting voice ready …. “Hi, Two Hats!” We didn’t know what the real name of the 15-foot statue was or why it stood there overlooking Dow’s Lake.
During Winterlude, Sam and I strollered down to the marina to check out the festivities and decided to take a closer look at Two Hats. To my surprise, we discovered that his name is actually “The Man with Two Hats.” So “Two Hats” seems a reasonable nickname. He stands as a monument of thanks from the Dutch government—not only did we lose 7,000 soldiers in the liberation of Holland during WWII, but we provided safe haven for Queen Wilhelmina, who gave birth to Princess Margriet at the Civic Hospital.
The Man’s hands are raised in joyful celebration of freedom, though his face is melancholic—subdued by the memory of the lives lost in the war. He’s encircled by some of the 20,000 tulips that the Dutch government continues to send to Canada each year as a token of gratitude and friendship. To underscore the countries’ historic connection, an identical statue stands in Apeldoorn. I read all this from the plaque next to the monument. Sam seemed to take it in, and then he added solemnly, “Yes, and he also has big feet.” True.
These days, we drive by Two Hats maybe twice a month en route to a weekend breakfast at Elgin Street Diner. We still interrupt our conversation to throw a communal shout out to our old friend. Nearly four years later, and it still makes us all smile to remind him that he hasn’t yet put on a hat.
2 comments:
More please!! I was starting to re-love the blog with all of your updates!!
Me too, it's my favorite blog in the world. I so wish my Mom had done something like this for me. Awesome.
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