29 200

A life can't be planned in stretches of time — hardly has it begun with a gasp for air. 
Baby Peter would have known something similar. 
Back then he was far more concerned with a full belly and a full diaper than with any kind of future. 
But his Dutch parents hoped for a long and extraordinary life for their little one.

Peter is a friend and neighbour here at Specialty Lofts. 
We've known each other since the summer of 2019, when he and Peggy moved in right next door. 
Peter is the man who wanted to reveal all the secrets of this venerable old building to me. 
And it worked out surprisingly well — I followed Peter around with my mouth hanging open, because I had no idea about any of these amenities. 

I was just over the moon to be moving into my loft. 
Living in Newmarket, full stop, is honestly enough for me. 
But Peter saw things differently. 

We wandered through the long corridors, chatting our way down to the ground floor. 
In the sidewing, a few "Aaah"s and "Ooh"s escaped my still wide-open mouth. 

Peter introduced me to the fitness room — small but perfectly formed. 
Right next door was the party room. 
No, that's not some political corner — it's a space for good-spirited festivities, i.e., parties.

And then — holy smokes — a sweet little movie theatre with deeply comfortable seats and a big screen. 
Oh yes, absolutely paradise. 
And of course there had to be a playroom, fitted out with a billiard table, a dartboard, and a card table. 

And presiding over all these surprises is the massive rooftop terrace for summer events.

Peter is drawn to many things that don't announce themselves loudly. 

He paints wonderful pictures of the Canadian landscape — villages, people, lakes. 
He does this almost in passing, because he hardly ever talks about his passion for painting. 

His small personal treasury of history comes in the form of stamps. 
Not a wild jumble of stamps from around the world, mind you. 

He has a thing for Dutch stamps. 
His collection of every postal issue ever produced by the Netherlands has one tiny little gap. 
A single stamp is missing. 
The blue 25-cent stamp bearing King Willem III is nowhere to be found. 
Oh, it was available for purchase, alright. 
But the asking price exceeded 25 cents by a few hundred thousand.

In those 29,200 days, Peter has experienced a great deal. 
Japan, for instance, back when Western faces were a rare sight there. 

Now, today, he has been present on Planet Earth for 80 years. 
And how. He is sharp, curious, and engaged — always.

All qualities you'd more likely expect in a young man. 
And in Peter.
Happy Birthday, Peter.