Walter's Wanderings: Weekly Dispatch (33)
Walter’s Wanderings, week 33
Golf Balls, Ypres Craters & Kemmelberg Wisdom
It was carnage.
A battlefield.
Yet the woods and meadows of Hollebeke lay rustic and summery.
Kestrels, little owls, grazing cattle.
A lone deer, caught at the edge of the Palingbeek.
A golf club with flawlessly manicured green fairways, bronzed skins, and crisp white outfits.
Not even a soft-boiled yolk had dripped thick and golden on the collar of a golf polo this morning.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
All is well on the western front.
Breathe in, breathe out — with Kemmelberg unfolding before you from the Echo Lodge.
The deer darts nervously into the undergrowth. An eyelid trembles.
A no-man’s land full of old wounds. Unease grows.
Thoughts drift to Brussels’ Fields, to the trenches of Kuregem,
where poppies are rare and vermin flourish.
Will it ever be finished?
Will the craters in the building remain festering wounds forever?
Are artists even looking for these studios?
Will these creative spaces ever find their occupants?
Will it become a glorious chapter,
or are we heading for a bloodbath that—at best—ends with a paving stone from an Anderlecht sidewalk replaced by a small metal plaque?
Here he swiftly succumbed
to hubris
RIP WWalter
2016 – 2025
Until suddenly—
FOOOOOOORE!
A golf ball
slamming hard
against
a head—
a thousand stars
and comets—
raw awareness—
black
before the eyes.
Later: a nurse with gentle hands and a warm voice.
“From Anderlecht, sir.
Walter, I see on your ID…?
Jazz, improv, and visual art, it says in your profile.
Is it slowly coming back, sir?”
And with two Dafalgans in his pocket and the advice to drink enough water and take it easy for a few days,
he’s back outside not long after.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
All is well on the western front.
Walter reopens — with the perfect Tiger Woods swing and a halo of renovation dust.
A little light-headed and utterly disoriented, he heads home.
From under the rubble, a notebook peeks out.
Walter’s workbook. Relief.
Page one: reopening October 25.
To-do: audience survey.
Right!
What do YOU want to see back in Walter?
A blond Walter beer?
A special musician or band?
24 hours of improv or other wonders?
Or something Walter hasn’t even dreamed up yet?
Send us your hole-in-one with a simple email.
And don’t be shy — Walter can take a hit.
FOOOOOOORE!
P.S. No time today to wander along Flemish fields and roads with Walter? We feel you.
The short version: Walter reopens in October. How can we make sure you'll be back?