Cindyrella and her rubber slipper

Carol (Kwek) just got the keys to her new home!! Jee!!

Yesterday we were in Tilburg to finalize all the paperwork. We walked around the city for hours, going from the bank to the housing people, to the municipal office and back. At the end of the day, as we were walking towards the train station, I commented to Kwek how happy I was that I had the right shoes on for this endeavor, that even after all this walking, my feet did not hurt.


When we got engaged, the first things I bought were this pair of white rubber slippers, with

Swarovski stones. I absolutely fell in love with them and seemed like the only one, everybody else hated them for my wedding shoes. Even though I did not wear them for the ceremony, they were still very dear to me.

After we hugged and said goodbye, Carol left to get her bus and I went to the board to check out the trainschedule. The train in my direction was leaving in 3 minutes, so I went upstairs where I needed to be. As I was on the last step up I heard the whistle for the doors, so I looked up and saw the doors beginning to close. It took me a second the decide wheter I would run left or right as both the doors where just as far from where I was standing. I decided to go right. As I got there, those doors started closing as well, so I thought about jumping through anyway. I hesitated, thought better of it and did not jump completely. The doors closed with my leg in between them. Let's just say, that I slightly panicked. I pressed on the door open knob, but nothing. I banged on the doors and other people standing there started yelling and waving to the people inside the train, but nothing. So I pulled and pulled, until I got my leg free, but could not get my slipper out together with my foot. It stayed stuck in between the doors. I hung on it with my full body weight, pulling like crazy, making signs to the people inside the train to help. The train drove of with half my slipper sticking out from the side, as I was standing there on one slipper.

Not my best moment. I could only imagine what it looked like to others. I had to laugh out loud at how ridiculous it all was, waving goodbye to my slipper.(Only later I realized that it could have ended badly, if it were my leg sticking out the doors with the train driving off....)
This really sweet girl coming home from vacation gave me her slippers, so I did not have to go home barefooted.

I approached several employees of the NS, to get help, but no one wanted to do anything about a slipper. Just before the next train that could take me home arrived, this new guy with the classic red NS hat came to help a wheelchair on a train and I thought: doesn't hurt to ask. So I explained to him that my slipper went for a ride and gave him a businesscard, as my train was leaving.

Can you imagine that within the hour Sjon from station Tilburg called me and told me he had my slipper? I went back immediately, with a big bag of drop and took my slipper home.

I still get tears in my eyes from laughing when I think about it....the slipper was sticking out for 15 cm, driving of to Eindhoven...