Lenny

I was born in Holland and came to New Amsterdam as an orphan. My parents died when I was just an infant and the earliest memory I have of them is when my moeder used to take me to the beach. Since then I never remember anyone caring for me.

For years, I lived on the streets, by myself, scrounging food from stores and markets, running errands for money whenever I could.

*****

Today, I live with a mean blacksmith at his rundown-looking shack just at the edge of Nieuwe Amsterdam right by the weighhouse. The only time I ever get to go anywhere else is when I have to buy food or it’s friday when I have a one hour break from 2:00 till 3:00. When I’m not on a break, I’m at my master's workshop.

Being a blacksmith is hard! The forge is very hot. In the morning, I could be entirely clean but at the end of the day I come out looking like a pig that has been rolling in the mud. (Urgh I hate pigs.)