Fifty Years of My Life (1939 - 1990)
A Memoir by Jeff R. Noordermeer

Dedicated to my wife,
family and friends.

What I saw...
  Was told...
   And did.

Foreword

I was born in the city of Rotterdam, Holland, in 1933. The bombing by Germany forced my family to move to the province of Limburg in the southern part of the country where coal mining was the principal industry.

I was the only boy and the oldest of four children and had to work underground in the mines to help support the family. After seven years of tremendously hard work, a dream began to come true when I met Americans with the liberating forces. At the age of 23, I decided to emigrate to America. I arrived in New York with one dollar in my pocket and worked at anything and everything, until in 1961 I went to a food production plant where I found a career with regular promotion soon after I joined this company.

I met a lady from an ethnic group in Burma called "Karens". In 1963 she became my wife. I moved up through the ranks in the company until I was stricken with bad health and forced into retirement.

During these years I became part of Washington society especially the Southeast Asian diplomatic community, which prompted my wife and me to take a long journey through that region.

I returned with fresh insights and a new outlook on life, all of which helped me to survive three heart attacks. I am so grateful for a life of many blessings with others. I have decided to share my story and philosophy with others.

Jeff R. Nordermeer