When fort rescuer Nanny Blank approached him smiling on the site, Arnoud did not know how to deal with it. “Man, I’m schizophrenic as hell, so when people laugh at me, I think they’re mad at me,” he said. Nanny agreed with him at that moment that when she smiles at him, it is always well-intentioned. Arnoud thought that was a good agreement.
As an ex-alcoholic, the fort’s gardener lived above a café. A not very convenient combination. That is why Arnoud was helped to find a new home and he continued to climb a little further on the ladder. He was getting better and better.
No Einstein
And the fort itself also turned out to be part of his ‘salvation’. According to Hof, he mowed hundreds of kilometers of grass. He also believes that the combination of working and ‘talking’ works well for people like Arnoud. “You don’t have to be Einstein for it, but some policy officials find it very difficult,” says Hof about the fact that many more people with mental challenges could be helped in this way.
It is a relief for Wendy and Arnoud’s family that he ended up well. They knew nothing about him. So the stories that are coming out now are causing some emotion. At the same time, the family is pleased that he died in a beautiful spot, in the Bussum countryside.
What do you mean different?
It ultimately turned out to be cardiac arrest that ended his life on his own birthday. Hof points out that with Arnoud’s death an era has also ended: the restoration is finished and now it is a matter of ‘keeping up’.
But it is not yet clear who will maintain the greenery of the fort. Maybe someone who is just a little ‘different’. But Hof wonders out loud: “Who was different? Was that him or was that us?”
Tags: Death bench Bussum commemoration Arnoud campsite Fort Werk
