The Amsterdam reporter, well-known twitterer and writer Ruud ten Wolde has been given a bench in the Vondelpark. The 29-year-old journalist died on October 9, after he had contracted cancer for the third time. Ten days later his book ‘Sick Happy’ was published, about living with a terminal illness. “I hope that people sitting on this bench will enjoy the sun’s rays.”
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There is a toast with champagne on Ruud’s bench. ‘Ruud sprinkled with sunbeams and he will always continue to do so’ it reads. “He really did,” says his partner Jeannot Peijen. “His laughter was so infectious and he could easily attract people.” He did that on Twitter, for example, with about twenty thousand followers. “But mainly with his friends and family. He had such a bond with them. I hope he always continues to sprinkle with sun rays,” says Jeannot.
For Jeannot, the place where the bench stands has a special meaning. “We lived close to the Vondelpark and always came here. If there was a bad result, or if we wanted to talk about our future. About the children we wanted, or about that beautiful dream home.”
Sick Happy
Ruud’s book ‘Sick Happy’ was published on 19 October. In it he describes the ups and downs of his life with cancer. “It suddenly went very fast before his book would come out with the cancer. First we had a good result,” says Jeannot, “and suddenly we only had weeks to days. He fought to make it to the publication date of his book, but that didn’t work.” Ruud passed away on 9 October. His book became number one on the bestseller list.
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“You understand what the other person can feel. That you don’t just have to be sad, but also unreasonably angry.”
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Femke van der Laan, the widow of former mayor Eberhard van der Laan, cut the ribbon to officially ‘open’ the bench. She and Jeannot became friends when Jeannot messaged her. He had read her book about the loss of her husband. “He wanted to talk to me because he didn’t know how to proceed,” says Van der Laan. “We went for a walk a few times. That was nice, because we understand from each other what the other can feel. That you don’t just have to be sad, but you can also laugh, be unreasonably angry and other things.”
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Sun rays
“I hope this bench is a place where people come together,” Jeannot says. “Life can be really short, so I hope they stop and enjoy the little things, like Ruud did. And enjoy the sun’s rays.”
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