Those of you who know me know I am not a spiritual man . . . well . . . maybe about golf. But as I was preparing for this trip I have to admit I may have experienced a spiritual moment. A true moment of enlightenment. You know . . . one of those moments in the movies when the hero looks into the camera with a meaningful expression and celestial music is heard
Be warned: what follows is a true story, The god’s honest truth.
This is a map from General William Simpson’s history of the Ninth Army, a tedious tome to which Bill gave the catchy title “Conquest.” As you can see, the map is entitled “Situation in Southern Belgium and Luxembourg. You can find Arlon in the lower left corner.
Note the sub-title “As of October 22, 1944″ . . . hmmmm . . . .now that’s a coincidence . . . that’s the very same day Uncle Robert died.
This is a map from Google Maps depicting the same area.
When I first pulled this Google Map up I thought . . . well . . . I know that he died on a road heading east out of Arlon . . . and I know that it happened just over the border to Luxembourg. Okay? So, really it could have happened anywhere in this tiny little country. Hell, Luxembourg is about the size of Rhode Island.
And remember Rob, it’s been 70 years. A lot has changed in 70 years. Hell, it’s probably a parking lot now.
But I thought . . . if I follow that road east out of Arlon, and I see where that road crosses the boundary between Belgium and Luxembourg, and I just pick a random spot just over the border that’s where I’ll say my thanks.
So I planted my finger on the map and said . . . “there, right there . . . I don’t know what’s there, but that’s where I’m going.
Cue celestial music.
So I pushed the little “plus” sign on my Google Maps, said to myself “Let’s see what’s there” . . . zoomed in, . . . zoomed in . . . zoomed in . . . squinted. . . and . . .
A GOLF COURSE?
Luxembourg has a muni?????
But wait . . . there’s more.
I zoom in further and see that “Golf Gaichel” has a link. Let’s check it out. So I did and this is what I saw. Pull this sight up on a computer (rather than a smart phone) and you’ll actually hear celestial music. I kid you not.
Rob, I said, you were meant to go to this golf course. So the good folks here at the hotel where I am staying lent me a bike and I set off. This is what I saw.
And before I knew it I was in Luxembourg.
Funny thing, I think time has stopped in Luxembourg. It wasn’t a parking lot. It was beautiful and everything I had ever imagined.
I know a golf course may seem a silly place to say thanks and some may think I am making light of my goal. But, I was . . . WAS . . . “somewhere in Luxenbourg” as I set out to be. And it was so peaceful, so serene, so . . . perfect.
Yes, the course was closed, but I had such a nice time walking the fairways. I know somehow I was meant to go there. Somehow, someway I was meant to walk a golf course in Luxembourg.
After a lunch of bottled water and madeleines by a stream, I pressed on, just turning down roads as they appeared, climbing ascents to see what was on top. (Note to self: Luxembourg is one hilly country. What it lacks in acreage it makes up for in vertical feet. Thankfully, the bike had a granny gear.), rolling into charming little towns and exchanging “Bonjours.”
I must have clocked another 50 kilometers. It was such a pleasant day.
And tonight at dinner, I spent a wonderful hour talking with a nice guy from Antwerp. We talked about daughters and sons, grandchildren, wars, cycling, Roger Federer, the Tour de France, and laughed and laughed, probably to the annoyance of the other reserved patrons. We exchanged selfies and au revoirs and went our separate ways fonder of one another’s countries (I like to think) just by virtue of a casual conversation.
I will always remember this day with gratitude for all my good fortune.
"Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost" 