As newly arrived immigrants we quickly made friends with other children in Villeria, Pretoria. In turn the children introduced their parents to each other and lasting friendships formed. In this picture are our little friends, and the blond girl is Annemarie "Ankie" Graaf, a Dutch immigrant from the Island of Texel, off the coast of Friesland. We were the same age, a few weeks apart and her birthday is today, the 2nd of May. Back in those days, we could remember birthdays, several telephone numbers and street addresses.
A few years later we moved from the the third-last-house of Pretoria to one in the centre of the city. I have long ago forgotten her phone number, but her birthday is somehow still engraved in my mind. There are other birthdays that I remember, those of my parents, grandparents, sister, nephews and nieces and some old friends. I am no longer in contact with most, as the majority have passed away, but the dates remain. I think of them as their birthdays roll past and silently wish them a happy birthday.
In today's rapidly changing world we no longer need to remember phone numbers; most are on a speed dial. With the internet, telephone calls are down to a minimum and calls are received with a startle and often a search for the phone. Birthday greetings are now sent electronically, prompted by automatic reminders.
I haven't heard from nor seen Ankie in sixty years. So where ever you my be… Happy Birthday, Ankie Graaf, I am thinking of you.
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