Journal

O M G I can not even begin to imagine this man's frustration, 23 years of knowing you are okay in your mind, but your body could not express what you felt, I feel so damn lucky..... thanks for sharing..... blessings

Oh my gosh. How horrible to be stuck there and not be able to say anything to your family.I am feeling really blessed right now. Thank-you

....but I had so much to add...

Me too!,oh well, i"ll have to go find another poor unsuspecting soul?...

can i talk yet?

oh i see....your such a fake ass J!.and i thought you truly cared what i had to say???...lol....lolol..anytime...

Well... I thought I'd just take this opportunity to educate you and well, everyone really on the history of the Netherlands ... During the period of the Roman Empire, areas south of the Rhine were included in the province of Gallia Belgica, and later of Germania Inferior. The country was inhabited at the time by various Germanic tribes, and the south was inhabited by Gauls, who merged with newcomers from other Germanic tribes during the migration period. The Salian Franks migrated to Gaul from this region, establishing by the 5th century the powerful Merovingian dynasty.

In the medieval period, the Low Countries (roughly present-day Belgium and the Netherlands, including parts of Germany (Ost-Fryslan) and France (Nord-Pas de Calais) consisted of various counties, duchies and dioceses belonging to the Duchy of Burgundy and to the Holy Roman Empire. These were united into one state under Habsburg rule in the 16th century. The Counter-Reformation following the success of Calvinism in the Netherlands, and the attempts to centralise government and suppress religious diversity led to a revolt against Philip II of Spain. On 26 July 1581, independence was declared, and finally recognised after the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The years of the war also marked the beginning of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great commercial and cultural prosperity roughly spanning the 17th century.

Around 1600, the Netherlands were considered a country, but it was not until 1648, with the Treaty of Münster, that the Dutch and Spain formally made peace.

After the French occupation at the beginning of the 19th century, the Netherlands started out as a monarchy, governed by the House of Orange. However, after a conservative period, strong liberal sentiments could no longer be ignored, and the country became a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch in 1848. It has remained so to this day, with a brief interruption during the occupation by Nazi Germany.

The Netherlands is now a modern, industrialised nation and a large exporter of agricultural products. International trade (literally 'overseas') has always been a central aspect of the Dutch economy (also influencing the culture) and was also an important reason for the struggle for independence and cause of the ensuing wealth.

Ok thats all for now...

... and.. uhmm... You're welcome... See now if I had just shut it as instructed you wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn all this amazing and totally relevant stuff...

;-)

yeah... so.... lol

LOL! You're welcome... and you were on a bike! Very dutch-tastic...

Not anymore - I found it... (thanks boltcutters) and thank you for the shrooms..

I've never been the same sense...