My first husband was a Physics major and became a colleague of Frits.
The two men did some joint research and published several scientific articles together.
When Frits got his
PhD,
he asked as one of his two paranymphs my first husband.
When my first husband got his
PhD
a couple of years later, Frits and I were his paranymphs.
In February 1974 we moved to New Jersey
(
USA),
where my first husband had gotten a Postdoctorate at Rutgers University.
By that time I had my Masters in Mathematics and
had been high school teaching for five years.
However, I was not allowed to hold a job in the States and
thus I decided to fulfill one of my old dreams,
namely to study music. I signed up at
Douglass College
and took the regular
SAT.
The courses in music history, harmony, and other subjects were wonderful.
I did not play an instrument (let's forget about the piano class
where my 33-year old fingers stumbled their way through)
but I was a voice major.
Living in the States and especially my time at Douglass changed me and
changed my life forever.
In June of 1976 I was ready to go back to Groningen to divorce my husband.
After that I returned to the States and tried to settle there but it did not work out.
Meanwhile Frits's marriage was cracking as well and July 1978 found the two of us
in the house we still live in, here in Noorderhoogebrug.