In the sixties my mother bought a watch for 1,000 guilders for my father. She had saved up for that for forty years. It was unusual for a large poor family to buy such an expensive watch. My father, who daily stroked and polished his Rolex, went to visit a wealthy couple. The host had decided not to wear his own Rolex so as not to embarrass his guest. How proud was my father who thought he had only such a beautiful thing and how prejudiced the host had been in underestimating him.
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A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of June 14, 2022