July 29, 2024 • 18 mins
I’m excited to share my interview with Conny Dassen. I met Conny in The Netherlands….she and my husband went to high school together and have been friends for decades. I interviewed Conny from the charming setting of her historic farmhouse in eastern Holland, near the German border.
Career
Join us as we explore the heartwarming and adventurous life of Conny Dassen, whose career journey has taken her from busy Amsterdam to the tranquil countryside of rural eastern Holland. Conny’s diverse professional background includes positions in the hotel industry, a travel company, a car rental agency, an employment firm and in television entertainment. Her late father was award-winning filmmaker and director Jan Dassen. Throughout her varied career, Conny’s unwavering passion for human interaction guided her to find roles that connected her with others. Now retired, Connie shares her reflections on balancing her love for people with her need for solitude and nature.
Love
Can a rekindled high school romance lead to happily-ever-after nearly five decades later? In this episode, you'll hear Conny and JanTon's compelling love story, their travel adventures, and their dream to immigrate to Australia. They were recently married on their farm.
Key Takeaways
- Connect with people, be open to new people and experiences
- Create a home that let's you live like you're on holiday
- Talk with the elderly to learn history
- Talk with young people, they are the future
- Love might be right in front of you
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Judy Oskam (00:02):
Welcome to Stories of Change and Creativity.
I'm Judy Oskam.
On this episode, I'm excited tobring you my interview with
Conny Dassen.
I met Conny in the Netherlands.
She and my husband went to highschool together and have been
friends for decades, and I cansee why Conny is smart,
determined and funny as hell.
(00:23):
During our conversation we lookback at her successful and
varied career from the hotelindustry to a career in
television.
Like her late father,filmmaker-director Jan Dassen.
You'll hear why Conny left thecity and moved to the country.
We sat down and talked in herfarmhouse in rural eastern
(00:45):
Holland near the German border.
The farmhouse has been lived insince 1541.
Conny lives there on the farmwith husband JanTon.
They were recently marriedafter a 50-year love story, and
what a love story it has been.
First we'll talk career andthen the conversation gets juicy
(01:07):
.
I hope you enjoy the interview.
Conny Dassen (01:12):
I think the most important thing is that I always
said when I ended high school Isaid I want to have a job with
people.
There has to be people involved.
I'm not going to be in anoffice with papers and computers
.
There has to be people involved.
So I started working in hotelsin Amsterdam, being a city guide
(01:34):
, worked in a travel agency, andthen I was fed up because it
was very, very, very hard workand I thought I'll make a
sidestep to car rental.
That was the wrong choice.
So I did that for exactly ninemonths and then I left.
I said bye, I'm going, made aton of money over there, but I
(01:58):
went back to the hotel andearned a third of what I did,
but you liked it more Betweenthe people, guests, hospitality.
So you went back to the hotel,yeah, and I had a great time.
And then, because myrelationship ended, I lived in
(02:19):
Amsterdam at the moment, I wentback to Amersfoort, which where
we all met, where your husbandand I met as friends on school,
and then I started working in ahotel which was brand new, which
wasn't open when I came, and weopened it and we built it up to
a five star deluxe hotel andwhen that was finished, I saw a
(02:44):
job ad of a sales and marketingjob.
And when I came to the job theysaid yeah, we also want to set
up a central reservation systembecause we have 12 hotels and
we're going to expand, so couldyou help us?
Did that, and then after that Iwent back to Amsterdam Worked
(03:07):
that's very funny.
Did I work?
Build where?
Yeah, then went back toAmsterdam, worked in a hotel for
I think about three months, Satin an office, had a secretary,
had every luxury you can thinkof, and I thought what the peep
am I doing here?
(03:27):
So I told my boss I'm sorry, butI'm not the right person for
this job, so I'm going to leaveyou guys.
No, you're not, yes, I am.
Went home, took half a year offand thought what would I do
with my life?
And I didn't know.
So I thought about it for halfa year and then I went into a
temp agency and I showed them myresume and I said could you
(03:50):
help me to the next job?
And she said that's okay, hangup your coat over there, drop
your bag over there, sit next tome and help me get people jobs.
I did that for fun, I did itfor five years.
I had so much fun ended up inHilversum and Hilversum is
(04:11):
television city in holland yes,and then we added in our 10 page
, we added an audio visual uhdepartment and they said would
you like to do it?
And as my father came fromtelevision and radio, yeah, your
father was a famousaward-winning journalist, yes,
so I thought maybe I can do that.
I know a couple of people.
I like the people becausethey're you know, they're
(04:35):
typical people.
Yeah, and did that.
And then my father retired andI thought well, now I can be
there, now it's my turn to dothat.
And then I started a course andbecame a planner for the first
soap in Holland Soap opera.
Judy Oskam (04:54):
Oh nice.
Conny Dassen (04:55):
Yeah, in television, yes, and that was
very funny, but I didn't want todo it.
It was all planning andadministrative stuff and extras
of course.
And then I became a director'sassistant, Did that for a couple
of years and then became floormanager in the entertainment
industry in Ausmere, which isthe other television mecca of
(05:18):
Holland, and did it.
I had so much fun.
Really that was my spot in theworld.
But then, as in every country,budgets were cut and instead of
working on the program for aweek we had a day, so that's not
enough bread on your plate.
And then I thought what shouldI do?
And then somebody offered me ajob as a secretary yes, as a
(05:42):
secretary, and I liked that.
And I evolved in that branchuntil the executive assistant.
At the end, when we moved here,I started giving trainings for
secretaries, helped them tolearn to communicate not only
(06:03):
the secretaries to the managerbut the manager to the
secretaries.
Judy Oskam (06:10):
but you just retired a month ago, yep, so it hasn't
been long.
When, when, when you look back,connie, at all of those jobs
that you really liked, what wasthe main connection there?
Was it the connectionconnection?
People?
Conny Dassen (06:24):
It's people, if it's actors, if it's managers
high up or low, I don't care, aslong as it's people.
Yeah, if you shut me in anoffice with only machines, I go
nuts.
Yeah, I have to be fed throughideas and things from other
(06:46):
people and you get your energyfrom that.
Oh, yes, yeah, yeah and, but Ineed my alone time as well
because that's what I learned inin all those years to recharge,
yeah, to recharge, yeah, andthat's what I do in nature, and
now I live in the middle ofnature yeah, so I'm recharged
all.
Judy Oskam (07:03):
I love that.
Well, and let's talk about that.
Because you moved from the cityAmsterdam, you lived in big
cities and you lived in busy,busy places, and now life in the
country.
Talk about life in the country.
How did that happen?
Conny Dassen (07:19):
Well, we lived in Middelburg, which is close to
Amsterdam, and we thought whatdo we want to do with the rest
of our lives?
And when we go on a trip, it'salways the peace and quiet we're
looking for.
And if that's, our favoritecountry is Australia and we
always look for the peace andquiet.
And I said, why don't we find aplace where we living but
(07:44):
actually we're on holiday?
So we thought, looked for thepeace and quiet.
It took us five years to findthis place.
Yeah and yeah, this is where weare going to end up.
I love that.
Judy Oskam (07:56):
Well, and when you say we, there's a story there
too.
Conny Dassen (08:00):
There's a story there too.
Judy Oskam (08:02):
There's romance, Listeners.
There's romance here and thisstory has been weaving
throughout time, through yourcareer, through your life, from
someone you knew way back inhigh school.
Conny Dassen (08:14):
Way back, he asked me if I wanted to date him on
my 18th birthday.
Judy Oskam (08:19):
Oh, I love that.
Conny Dassen (08:23):
And 49 years later , we got married on that same
date, but there have been pushesand pulls throughout the 50
years.
Well, we were going to livetogether in a house and I
(08:43):
thought, if I live together now,I can't live, because then
we're a couple.
The time wasn't right, yeah, no, it wasn't really not right.
So I, we, we ended therelationship.
I moved to Amsterdam andstarted to live.
I'm an only child, so I had amother and a father which were
really in my life, and I spreadmy wings and started to travel,
(09:09):
started to get different jobsand but we always stayed friends
.
If I needed financial advice oranything else, I always would
call them up.
Yeah, and we met.
A very specific date was we metin 2000.
I just had a trip where I had, Iwouldn't say, a revelation, but
(09:35):
I thought I learned somethingvery important about myself and
I said I thought I wanted totell him.
So I called him up, let's havedinner.
I told him, I asked him aquestion and it turned out he
wasn't happy in the relationshiphe was having.
So we talked a lot about it.
We talked how he could solvethat and a lot of other things.
It, unfortunately, it ended ina divorce for him and I went to
(09:58):
australia because I had a dreamof doing a big trip on my own,
yeah.
And then, um, almost at the endof my trip, he called me me up.
He said I have a new job but Ihave a month of free time.
Is it okay if I travel with you?
I said, yes, well, let me thinkabout it.
And then a couple of days laterI called him and I said okay,
(10:21):
travel with me.
And then he was very brave.
He made his firstintercontinental flight and he
never done that before, andended up in a country he knew.
Nobody spoke the language, ofcourse, but that's about it.
And he ended up in the middleof Australia, in Alice Springs,
and that's where I picked him upat the airport.
Judy Oskam (10:43):
I love this.
Conny Dassen (10:44):
And we traveled for a month together, fell in
love with Australia and triedour very best to move and
immigrate to Australia, but wedidn't succeed because the
Australian rules are very strict, yeah right.
Judy Oskam (10:56):
They're right.
So your dream changed a littlebit from Australia.
But while in Australia youfound the magic again with
JanTon.
Yeah, and so together you come back.
Conny Dassen (11:10):
Yeah, in Australia I found out that I looked for a
man Don't laugh too hard.
I always looked for a man whohad a little bit of Yontan in
his face or in his behavior.
And when he came after threemonths and I saw him, I thought,
(11:33):
oh, you're the one, but I'veknown you for all my life.
Judy Oskam (11:34):
Yes, the obvious, yeah, yeah.
So the timing.
The timing had to be right.
Yeah, the timing had to beright.
Well, throughout all of thatyou've, you face a lot of change
.
Talk about how you approachchange, because that's something
that I'm fascinating with ishow people how to kind of
approach change and then moveforward in their life one
(12:11):
assignment to another.
Conny Dassen (12:11):
It's um, I always start with open eyes, open ears.
Let people tell me what theywant and what they don't want,
and why they don't want it.
Talk to them and then you canfind out how you can solve a
problem.
Sometimes there isn't even aproblem.
No, yeah, and I'm the one fornew horizons, new challenges,
meeting new people and findingout about different cultures,
(12:36):
about how people live and whythey live their lives like they
live it.
So for me, it's a constant.
I'm a very, very busy, busyreader.
I read a lot.
It's crazy if I don't have anew book waiting before the
other one is finished, I getnervous.
(12:57):
Yeah, and that's I think.
Once I read a quote that saidif you live your life without
traveling, you only read thefirst page.
Oh, that's true, yeah, and ifyou keep on reading and keep on
living, you read the whole book.
Well, my book is not finishedyet.
(13:18):
No, no.
I'm halfway yeah.
Judy Oskam (13:21):
Yeah, I love that.
So look ahead five years.
What's, what are we going tosee five years from now?
Conny Dassen (13:29):
Well, I'll still be here.
Judy Oskam (13:30):
Yeah.
Conny Dassen (13:31):
Because I'm not going anywhere.
Yes, I hope we've traveled.
We have been to Australia acouple of times and there's
still one spot we want to see.
I hope we've done that.
We still have another trip.
I have another trip on my wishlist Botswana, and Yantong is
(13:54):
hasn't been traveling that muchbefore.
He knew me and now he said justlead the way, I'll follow you.
I love it.
Never been there, never donethat, just leave it.
So that's that's what we'regoing to do, yeah, and make this
a good place and enjoy it.
I love it.
And that's what we do every day.
Judy Oskam (14:13):
Yeah Well, and what advice do you have for people
that you know might not live insuch a scenic place?
But how can we really kind ofembrace the moment and the
nature around us?
What do you recommend, becauseyou live in it every day?
Conny Dassen (14:42):
Yeah, I think the most important thing is that
you're sharing your thoughts andideas with other people.
So talk to people.
That's what I think is the mostimportant thing now these days.
Talk to people.
Talk to elderly people becausethey're the history.
Talk to young people becausethey're the future.
Just talk to them and see whatthey think.
Don't just look at yourtelephone, at your phone, and
that's not where life comes from.
Life comes from the peoplearound you and especially with
(15:05):
the world how it is today, Ithink it's very important that
we listen to the elder peoplebecause they've been there, and
that the younger people shouldeducate themselves by listening
to the older people.
I think that's really my wishthat people do that.
I live in the part of Hollandwhere there are still a lot of
(15:27):
old farmers living in theirfarms and I'll go by, have a cup
of coffee and ask them abouttheir lives, and one coffee
turns into lunch and even oneturned into dinner, because he
and she couldn't stop talking.
And the information I got wetalked about the war because
(15:51):
we're close to the German border.
We talked to the Second WorldWar.
The information I got, thefeelings, the emotions I got,
they're worth a lifetime, andthat's what I want other people
to do as well.
Listen.
Judy Oskam (16:07):
Well, I see you're going back to your roots with
your family and your father, andthe journalist in you is coming
out.
So maybe there's a book in yourfuture.
No, have you thought aboutcollecting those?
Conny Dassen (16:19):
stories.
No, my father always had onesentence in his whole life One
day I'm going to write a bookand he never did and I'm not
going to say it.
But I made a lot of movies anda lot of documentaries for
myself, so I'm more of a picturegirl yeah, documentary, yeah,
documentaries for myself.
So I'm more of a a picture girlyeah, documentary, yeah.
(16:40):
So maybe that's one day I'mgonna do that I'm gonna do.
What I'm gonna do is find outthe history of the place we're
living.
We're now here it's we've beenliving since 1541, so there's a
lot of history there.
That's what I'm going to lookinto.
I really want to do that.
I already have a lot of historythere.
That's what I'm going to lookinto.
I really want to do that.
I already have a lot ofinformation, but that's a tough
(17:03):
job.
It is a tough job, but I haveto do it quickly because a lot
of the elderly people in their80s, 90s at the moment and they
tell the best stories, yeah,yeah.
They tell stories that you thinkno, not in my house, yes in our
house.
Oh that you think no, not in myhouse, yes in our house.
Oh, my goodness, yeah, theylived in this house where you're
(17:23):
now, with 11 children.
Oh my gosh, and sometimes wethe two of us don't have enough
room.
Yeah, 11 children, wow.
Judy Oskam (17:32):
Wow, this has been fun.
Thank you, Conny, appreciate it.
Thank you for sharing and thankyou for being here.
Thank you In Holland.
I will come back.
Well, I really do look forwardto coming back to Holland and
visiting with Conny and JanTonand finding out what's new with
them and also what's new withlife on the farm and at the
(17:52):
farmhouse.
Some of the takeaways that Igot I love that Connie talked
about the importance of talkingwith elderly people to learn the
history and also talking toyoung people who have their eye
on the future, open eyes andopen ears, as Conny said.
Well, I hope you enjoyed thisconversation as much as I did.
(18:14):
It was just a fun, fun,interesting connection.
It was just a fun, fun,interesting connection If you've
got a story to share or knowsomeone who does reach out to me
at JudyOskam.
com.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Stories of Change and Creativity.
I'm Judy Oskam.
On this episode, I'm excited tobring you my interview with
Conny Dassen.
I met Conny in the Netherlands.
She and my husband went to highschool together and have been
friends for decades, and I cansee why Conny is smart,
determined and funny as hell.
(00:23):
During our conversation we lookback at her successful and
varied career from the hotelindustry to a career in
television.
Like her late father,filmmaker-director Jan Dassen.
You'll hear why Conny left thecity and moved to the country.
We sat down and talked in herfarmhouse in rural eastern
(00:45):
Holland near the German border.
The farmhouse has been lived insince 1541.
Conny lives there on the farmwith husband JanTon.
They were recently marriedafter a 50-year love story, and
what a love story it has been.
First we'll talk career andthen the conversation gets juicy
(01:07):
.
I hope you enjoy the interview.
Conny Dassen (01:12):
I think the most important thing is that I always
said when I ended high school Isaid I want to have a job with
people.
There has to be people involved.
I'm not going to be in anoffice with papers and computers
.
There has to be people involved.
So I started working in hotelsin Amsterdam, being a city guide
(01:34):
, worked in a travel agency, andthen I was fed up because it
was very, very, very hard workand I thought I'll make a
sidestep to car rental.
That was the wrong choice.
So I did that for exactly ninemonths and then I left.
I said bye, I'm going, made aton of money over there, but I
(01:58):
went back to the hotel andearned a third of what I did,
but you liked it more Betweenthe people, guests, hospitality.
So you went back to the hotel,yeah, and I had a great time.
And then, because myrelationship ended, I lived in
(02:19):
Amsterdam at the moment, I wentback to Amersfoort, which where
we all met, where your husbandand I met as friends on school,
and then I started working in ahotel which was brand new, which
wasn't open when I came, and weopened it and we built it up to
a five star deluxe hotel andwhen that was finished, I saw a
(02:44):
job ad of a sales and marketingjob.
And when I came to the job theysaid yeah, we also want to set
up a central reservation systembecause we have 12 hotels and
we're going to expand, so couldyou help us?
Did that, and then after that Iwent back to Amsterdam Worked
(03:07):
that's very funny.
Did I work?
Build where?
Yeah, then went back toAmsterdam, worked in a hotel for
I think about three months, Satin an office, had a secretary,
had every luxury you can thinkof, and I thought what the peep
am I doing here?
(03:27):
So I told my boss I'm sorry, butI'm not the right person for
this job, so I'm going to leaveyou guys.
No, you're not, yes, I am.
Went home, took half a year offand thought what would I do
with my life?
And I didn't know.
So I thought about it for halfa year and then I went into a
temp agency and I showed them myresume and I said could you
(03:50):
help me to the next job?
And she said that's okay, hangup your coat over there, drop
your bag over there, sit next tome and help me get people jobs.
I did that for fun, I did itfor five years.
I had so much fun ended up inHilversum and Hilversum is
(04:11):
television city in holland yes,and then we added in our 10 page
, we added an audio visual uhdepartment and they said would
you like to do it?
And as my father came fromtelevision and radio, yeah, your
father was a famousaward-winning journalist, yes,
so I thought maybe I can do that.
I know a couple of people.
I like the people becausethey're you know, they're
(04:35):
typical people.
Yeah, and did that.
And then my father retired andI thought well, now I can be
there, now it's my turn to dothat.
And then I started a course andbecame a planner for the first
soap in Holland Soap opera.
Judy Oskam (04:54):
Oh nice.
Conny Dassen (04:55):
Yeah, in television, yes, and that was
very funny, but I didn't want todo it.
It was all planning andadministrative stuff and extras
of course.
And then I became a director'sassistant, Did that for a couple
of years and then became floormanager in the entertainment
industry in Ausmere, which isthe other television mecca of
(05:18):
Holland, and did it.
I had so much fun.
Really that was my spot in theworld.
But then, as in every country,budgets were cut and instead of
working on the program for aweek we had a day, so that's not
enough bread on your plate.
And then I thought what shouldI do?
And then somebody offered me ajob as a secretary yes, as a
(05:42):
secretary, and I liked that.
And I evolved in that branchuntil the executive assistant.
At the end, when we moved here,I started giving trainings for
secretaries, helped them tolearn to communicate not only
(06:03):
the secretaries to the managerbut the manager to the
secretaries.
Judy Oskam (06:10):
but you just retired a month ago, yep, so it hasn't
been long.
When, when, when you look back,connie, at all of those jobs
that you really liked, what wasthe main connection there?
Was it the connectionconnection?
People?
Conny Dassen (06:24):
It's people, if it's actors, if it's managers
high up or low, I don't care, aslong as it's people.
Yeah, if you shut me in anoffice with only machines, I go
nuts.
Yeah, I have to be fed throughideas and things from other
(06:46):
people and you get your energyfrom that.
Oh, yes, yeah, yeah and, but Ineed my alone time as well
because that's what I learned inin all those years to recharge,
yeah, to recharge, yeah, andthat's what I do in nature, and
now I live in the middle ofnature yeah, so I'm recharged
all.
Judy Oskam (07:03):
I love that.
Well, and let's talk about that.
Because you moved from the cityAmsterdam, you lived in big
cities and you lived in busy,busy places, and now life in the
country.
Talk about life in the country.
How did that happen?
Conny Dassen (07:19):
Well, we lived in Middelburg, which is close to
Amsterdam, and we thought whatdo we want to do with the rest
of our lives?
And when we go on a trip, it'salways the peace and quiet we're
looking for.
And if that's, our favoritecountry is Australia and we
always look for the peace andquiet.
And I said, why don't we find aplace where we living but
(07:44):
actually we're on holiday?
So we thought, looked for thepeace and quiet.
It took us five years to findthis place.
Yeah and yeah, this is where weare going to end up.
I love that.
Judy Oskam (07:56):
Well, and when you say we, there's a story there
too.
Conny Dassen (08:00):
There's a story there too.
Judy Oskam (08:02):
There's romance, Listeners.
There's romance here and thisstory has been weaving
throughout time, through yourcareer, through your life, from
someone you knew way back inhigh school.
Conny Dassen (08:14):
Way back, he asked me if I wanted to date him on
my 18th birthday.
Judy Oskam (08:19):
Oh, I love that.
Conny Dassen (08:23):
And 49 years later , we got married on that same
date, but there have been pushesand pulls throughout the 50
years.
Well, we were going to livetogether in a house and I
(08:43):
thought, if I live together now,I can't live, because then
we're a couple.
The time wasn't right, yeah, no, it wasn't really not right.
So I, we, we ended therelationship.
I moved to Amsterdam andstarted to live.
I'm an only child, so I had amother and a father which were
really in my life, and I spreadmy wings and started to travel,
(09:09):
started to get different jobsand but we always stayed friends
.
If I needed financial advice oranything else, I always would
call them up.
Yeah, and we met.
A very specific date was we metin 2000.
I just had a trip where I had, Iwouldn't say, a revelation, but
(09:35):
I thought I learned somethingvery important about myself and
I said I thought I wanted totell him.
So I called him up, let's havedinner.
I told him, I asked him aquestion and it turned out he
wasn't happy in the relationshiphe was having.
So we talked a lot about it.
We talked how he could solvethat and a lot of other things.
It, unfortunately, it ended ina divorce for him and I went to
(09:58):
australia because I had a dreamof doing a big trip on my own,
yeah.
And then, um, almost at the endof my trip, he called me me up.
He said I have a new job but Ihave a month of free time.
Is it okay if I travel with you?
I said, yes, well, let me thinkabout it.
And then a couple of days laterI called him and I said okay,
(10:21):
travel with me.
And then he was very brave.
He made his firstintercontinental flight and he
never done that before, andended up in a country he knew.
Nobody spoke the language, ofcourse, but that's about it.
And he ended up in the middleof Australia, in Alice Springs,
and that's where I picked him upat the airport.
Judy Oskam (10:43):
I love this.
Conny Dassen (10:44):
And we traveled for a month together, fell in
love with Australia and triedour very best to move and
immigrate to Australia, but wedidn't succeed because the
Australian rules are very strict, yeah right.
Judy Oskam (10:56):
They're right.
So your dream changed a littlebit from Australia.
But while in Australia youfound the magic again with
JanTon.
Yeah, and so together you come back.
Conny Dassen (11:10):
Yeah, in Australia I found out that I looked for a
man Don't laugh too hard.
I always looked for a man whohad a little bit of Yontan in
his face or in his behavior.
And when he came after threemonths and I saw him, I thought,
(11:33):
oh, you're the one, but I'veknown you for all my life.
Judy Oskam (11:34):
Yes, the obvious, yeah, yeah.
So the timing.
The timing had to be right.
Yeah, the timing had to beright.
Well, throughout all of thatyou've, you face a lot of change
.
Talk about how you approachchange, because that's something
that I'm fascinating with ishow people how to kind of
approach change and then moveforward in their life one
(12:11):
assignment to another.
Conny Dassen (12:11):
It's um, I always start with open eyes, open ears.
Let people tell me what theywant and what they don't want,
and why they don't want it.
Talk to them and then you canfind out how you can solve a
problem.
Sometimes there isn't even aproblem.
No, yeah, and I'm the one fornew horizons, new challenges,
meeting new people and findingout about different cultures,
(12:36):
about how people live and whythey live their lives like they
live it.
So for me, it's a constant.
I'm a very, very busy, busyreader.
I read a lot.
It's crazy if I don't have anew book waiting before the
other one is finished, I getnervous.
(12:57):
Yeah, and that's I think.
Once I read a quote that saidif you live your life without
traveling, you only read thefirst page.
Oh, that's true, yeah, and ifyou keep on reading and keep on
living, you read the whole book.
Well, my book is not finishedyet.
(13:18):
No, no.
I'm halfway yeah.
Judy Oskam (13:21):
Yeah, I love that.
So look ahead five years.
What's, what are we going tosee five years from now?
Conny Dassen (13:29):
Well, I'll still be here.
Judy Oskam (13:30):
Yeah.
Conny Dassen (13:31):
Because I'm not going anywhere.
Yes, I hope we've traveled.
We have been to Australia acouple of times and there's
still one spot we want to see.
I hope we've done that.
We still have another trip.
I have another trip on my wishlist Botswana, and Yantong is
(13:54):
hasn't been traveling that muchbefore.
He knew me and now he said justlead the way, I'll follow you.
I love it.
Never been there, never donethat, just leave it.
So that's that's what we'regoing to do, yeah, and make this
a good place and enjoy it.
I love it.
And that's what we do every day.
Judy Oskam (14:13):
Yeah Well, and what advice do you have for people
that you know might not live insuch a scenic place?
But how can we really kind ofembrace the moment and the
nature around us?
What do you recommend, becauseyou live in it every day?
Conny Dassen (14:42):
Yeah, I think the most important thing is that
you're sharing your thoughts andideas with other people.
So talk to people.
That's what I think is the mostimportant thing now these days.
Talk to people.
Talk to elderly people becausethey're the history.
Talk to young people becausethey're the future.
Just talk to them and see whatthey think.
Don't just look at yourtelephone, at your phone, and
that's not where life comes from.
Life comes from the peoplearound you and especially with
(15:05):
the world how it is today, Ithink it's very important that
we listen to the elder peoplebecause they've been there, and
that the younger people shouldeducate themselves by listening
to the older people.
I think that's really my wishthat people do that.
I live in the part of Hollandwhere there are still a lot of
(15:27):
old farmers living in theirfarms and I'll go by, have a cup
of coffee and ask them abouttheir lives, and one coffee
turns into lunch and even oneturned into dinner, because he
and she couldn't stop talking.
And the information I got wetalked about the war because
(15:51):
we're close to the German border.
We talked to the Second WorldWar.
The information I got, thefeelings, the emotions I got,
they're worth a lifetime, andthat's what I want other people
to do as well.
Listen.
Judy Oskam (16:07):
Well, I see you're going back to your roots with
your family and your father, andthe journalist in you is coming
out.
So maybe there's a book in yourfuture.
No, have you thought aboutcollecting those?
Conny Dassen (16:19):
stories.
No, my father always had onesentence in his whole life One
day I'm going to write a bookand he never did and I'm not
going to say it.
But I made a lot of movies anda lot of documentaries for
myself, so I'm more of a picturegirl yeah, documentary, yeah,
documentaries for myself.
So I'm more of a a picture girlyeah, documentary, yeah.
(16:40):
So maybe that's one day I'mgonna do that I'm gonna do.
What I'm gonna do is find outthe history of the place we're
living.
We're now here it's we've beenliving since 1541, so there's a
lot of history there.
That's what I'm going to lookinto.
I really want to do that.
I already have a lot of historythere.
That's what I'm going to lookinto.
I really want to do that.
I already have a lot ofinformation, but that's a tough
(17:03):
job.
It is a tough job, but I haveto do it quickly because a lot
of the elderly people in their80s, 90s at the moment and they
tell the best stories, yeah,yeah.
They tell stories that you thinkno, not in my house, yes in our
house.
Oh that you think no, not in myhouse, yes in our house.
Oh, my goodness, yeah, theylived in this house where you're
(17:23):
now, with 11 children.
Oh my gosh, and sometimes wethe two of us don't have enough
room.
Yeah, 11 children, wow.
Judy Oskam (17:32):
Wow, this has been fun.
Thank you, Conny, appreciate it.
Thank you for sharing and thankyou for being here.
Thank you In Holland.
I will come back.
Well, I really do look forwardto coming back to Holland and
visiting with Conny and JanTonand finding out what's new with
them and also what's new withlife on the farm and at the
(17:52):
farmhouse.
Some of the takeaways that Igot I love that Connie talked
about the importance of talkingwith elderly people to learn the
history and also talking toyoung people who have their eye
on the future, open eyes andopen ears, as Conny said.
Well, I hope you enjoyed thisconversation as much as I did.
(18:14):
It was just a fun, fun,interesting connection.
It was just a fun, fun,interesting connection If you've
got a story to share or knowsomeone who does reach out to me
at JudyOskam.
com.
Thanks for listening.
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