A PECULIAR SHOPKEEPER (14 november 2007)
When people sometimes congratulate me for living in such a pleasant street, I usually tend to agree: the Overtoom has pretty houses and nice shops. But are all the shops as pleasant as is suggested?
This afternoon I was going for a walk down the Overtoom, when off number 412, where a new shop seemed to specialize in gear for people who want to 'live hip' -- whatever that may be -- I saw my way blocked by a van which occupied about eighty percent of the pavement width. The Overtoom may be a nice street, but the roadway is used intensively. Consequently, leaving the pavement was not an option I considered, so I squeezed through the narrow passage at the side of the van.
When I had nearly negotiated the length of this constriction, however, further progress was impeded by the door of the van. Since I had come this far, I decided to push the obstructive door out of my way.
With my view no longer blocked, I discerned a few figures at the back of the van who appeared to be in a state of frenzy. One of them was so excited that he deemed it necessary to start thumping me. As I didn't fancy the prospect of being mixed up with a punch-bag, I entered the shop, vainly hoping for a little more reason. After all, the Overtoom is a respectable shopping street, and I assumed the shopkeeper was unaware of the fact that his staff were harrassing passers-by who wished to use the pavement for what pavements are meant for.
Unfortunately, this function of a pavement appeared to be beyond this dim-witted shopkeeper's comprehension. What an idiot was I not to understand that vans had every right in the world to block pavements! Why couldn't I continue my walk via the roadway?
You won't be surprised to hear that this moron was soon confronted with a lack of arguments, which hardly seemed to hinder him, for presently his reasoning concentrated on irrelevant details like the unmistakable fact that my scalp is not exactly adorned with an abundance of hair. I understood that hopes for any serious discussion with this buffoon would be futile. And while I proceeded on my walk, I heard my new acquaintance shouting things that were probably meant to insult me. Most of it was unintelligible, but with some effort I could discern Dutch words meaning shit or crap.
Well, so far about this new shop. Needless to say that if you happen to come near it, I advise you to observe a degree of caution.
Finally the question whether this shop (and its staff) should be considered an asset for the Overtoom - I'll leave that to my readers to judge.
