Do You Remember?

Fort Lauderdale, May 2006: For sure, life is a short affair. And most lives pass like ships in the night, dark and anonymous. What we remember, i.e., memories are at the center of our lives, but memories not written down quickly fade, wind up erased. For sure, history has been less kind remembering the lives of common folk. Until recently, historical writing focused mostly on the few at the top. However, modern, more democ-ratic times have begun to challenge all that. Education, the personal computer, the Internet, the video wit-ness, dramatic changes in television and publishing, in short, the totally new information technology, have begun to revolutionize the way history is remembered and recorded.

Joost Hensen’s memoir: Oh, When We Were Young, has made an entertaining attempt in the same such direction, telling a personal tale, but also re-writing history, not only about his native Holland, but also on his new adoptive homes in Canada, America and Brazil, and about a good many other places he visited along the road of life.


Dutch-American Hensen's memoir of his youthful adventures shines like a searchlight across several continents and the second half of the 20th century, exposing notions of history and heroism; exploring new horizons and old politics, border, boudoir and other battlefield matters.
Dr. Albert Nekimken, Kocsis Scourged, Surviving the Art World, 1999


At once travel book, memoir, and potted history of the world, Hensen's book is compelling. He is
especially perceptive when it comes to understanding the people he meets, and describing the nuances that
make each society and culture unique.'
Chanda Kapande, a British and African assessment of: ‘Oh, When We Were Young’


We praise Hensen’s memoirs not only because he manages to recover the rich and wild experiences from his distant past, but also because he redeems them from oblivion through the wittier devices of storytelling.
Joshua Longobardy, Las Vegas Weekly


About the Author
Joost Maria Johannes Hensen, originally from South Limburg, the Netherlands, now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, together with his wife, Janet, and their two children, Hubert and Helene.
Hensen is a Veteran of the United States Air Force, a graduate of the universities of Nebraska, Arkansas, and the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. His articles have been published on both sides of the At-lantic. He is, and has been for the past 20 years, a partner in the ITH Group of companies, a manufacturer and distributor of chemicals throughout Central America.