I think the biggest mark of character of a person or a town is what they would do with a little extra money.
One of the Cluj newspapers really disappointed me on what they would do with 50 lei. The writing of that paper isn’t very good, and the research isn’t always that deep, so I can’t say I’m that surprised. But, when someone got robbed of 50 lei, instead of putting the amount, the headline was measured in beer and cigarettes.
Yes, that is the state of journalism today. Many journalists do not know the price of eggs or theatre tickets, they don’t know the price of a monthly gym subscription or an entry to a zoo or garden or even an art museum, no, they only know the price of a couple of vices, because their lives are that boring.
We want to prove that Dutch culture has much more to offer than the recent film festival showed. Flemish culture does to, with films like Daens, but let’s stick with Dutch culture. What would a Dutch man (or a cultured Clujean who doesn’t write for a certain newspaper) do with fifty euros?
Some of these things might cost less in parts of Romania, but let’s look at things you can do for fifty Euros in Robert van Hemert’s song, “Geld Maakt Niet Gelukkig (maar Gelukkig heb ik geld.)”
In many Germanic languages, the word for happy has the same route for luck. In fact, the English word Happy comes from the same root as happenstance, or random luck. “Gelukkig” is a kind of happiness, like job satisfaction or happiness in marriage or happy with one’s situation in life. So, it’s hard to translate word for word, but trying to get the pun, we might say, “Money doesn’t make one happy, but happily I have money.” Of course, “luckily” would be more natural in that sentence than “happily” but then we’d lost the pun.
The main character in the music video drops little bits of money, 50 euros, in random places for people to find it. What will they spend that money on?
A little girl spends it on boxing gloves. Now, she can participate in a new sport (she might have been able to before, but the new gloves seem to motivate her.) Cluj also has sports places, where one can buy anything from jump ropes to soccer balls to new shoes. Some of the best shoes might cost fifty euros, but a lot of nice things can be bought for closer to fifty lei. (YEs, prices are rising, but I think I still saw a jump rope for fifty).
Wait a minute. Those aren’t boxing gloves, they are goalie gloves. There are also many sporting places in Cluj where you can practice Association Football, soccer for short, even if you can’t reach the world cup. (Fifty euros won’t get you far in this year’s world cup, sadly, but you can get more than a month’s tele to watch it.)
One young man spends the money on a little raft, so he can ride down the river. Cluj also has rivers. I wonder why I don’t see many boats on it. Maybe it’s not safe?
An old lady seems to just smile as she walks by. Perhaps now she has money to pay her electric bill and won’t freeze over the winter or burn over the summer. No, she spends it on a haircut. I guess she doesn’t need the money, but she appreciates it.
I think you can get a haircut for less than fifty euros in Cluj. Women’s haircuts do cost more, but I had excellent haircuts at three places in Cluj for around fifty lei each. Why don’t I recommend any of these places? I haven’t seen a bad haircut in Cluj. Just go to a barber or hairdresser, and ask the price ahead of time. This town has great barbers, I am sure whoever you pick will do a fine job.
Another young man, about the same age as the first, seems to spend it on beer. Oh well, at least it seems to be tasty beer. Maybe he’s the journalist for that boring newspaper, having relocated to Holland. Or, hopefully, that is just part of the money, and he finds something else interesting to spend the money on. Perhaps there is room for a sequel.
It is amazing, though, that in a country as wealthy (and expensive) as the Netherlands, such a recent song could put 50 euros as a lifechanging amount. If all one’s needs are met, any extra can come as a blessing.