Everybody hopes for a "Family" Pope

Now we have buried the "Peace" Pope (he wasn't really a young people's Pope after all), we can only hope that the good Lord isn't on vacation or in his garden watering his heavenly Brussels sprouts.....

The funeral was the best proof of the late Pope's legacy: most of the world-leaders who didn't want to see/meet each other or have been long-time enemies couldn't avoid the "peaceful" handshake we Catholics exchange during mass.....

And business was as usual: they denied afterwards that they did.........

The burial reminded me of a Jewish funeral I once attended. No flowers, naked coffin, yak......but the public didn't mind and showed their respect by applauding the late pope's body....I must admit I was very much moved by the fact that the coffin was turned towards "his" public for a last time as saying "goodbye for now" and after that last farewell to "his" public, carried into the St. Peters Church.

So, the next Pope....let he be a family man....let him urge the old cardinals and the Curie to discuss prevention, abortion, livin' togetherness and above all homosexuality, let him urge them to start to live in the PRESENT and not in the 15th century (even those who lived then were very much "enlightened")...only then he will be a Pope to remember when he finally dies one day far in the future...

"Chief"- Kees:Lammetje

Nanny, my mother and the first van Dijk - Keeshond, Lammetje (= Little Lamb because of the lamblike fur) and although the picture is in ancient black & white, you can see that the fur is much darker than the one Gino has today. Norwegian breeders did not like dark (original) Keeshonden, so they breed'm light. But everybody knows that's not right, originally they really are dark...and though you can't see it here, the rings around the eyes (it's "brandmark") are so much more visible on dark Keeshonds than on whiter ones....
Unfortunately Lammetje got the feared typical Keeshond-disease called for the 7 year-itch bug (it strangely returns every 7 years)which affect and destroys the kidneysystem within a couple of weeks, no cure, it's a kind of ebolabug, no way back....and it can kill up to 60% of all Keeshonds. In Scandinavia we were able (knock on wood) to avoid this itch which means that there are almost more Keeshonds here than in the Netherlands....
My grandfather send me to the Amsterdam Zoo the day they let Lammetje go to sleep......so when I came home he wasn't there anymore...and I couldn't stop crying for many days....wel, all good things come to an end...

Gino - the "whity" Kees

Some more of my Wolfie Gino
Here you see Gino first together with his old "boss", so walking along the canal together with his new "boss" Veronica guarding his most precious newcomling Marius...

Kind'a for-runner

Yes he is....at first livin' in Norway, and after that he took the plane to Holland and Utrecht to his first "new" boss Sebastiaan, finally back in the land of his ancestors and race....these 2 were really dog and boss, Gino obeying really every command he received from Sebastiaan....after the kids popped up at his domicile in Utrecht, Veronica took over and "installed" him in Lelystad (Bart deserves really a pat on the shoulder for Gino's really beautiful fur..)where he now guards Marius and the rest of the household..