Johan Derksen has the image of a gruff man of the old stamp, but at the same time he has a heart of gold. Journalist Brenda Stoter Boscolo writes in her column in the Provincial Zeeland Courant about how Derksen recorded a video message for her father a year ago, who was in the ICU as a corona patient at the time. The two did not know each other at all, but that was no problem for Derksen to encourage the man.
Stoter Boscolo contacted Johan Derksen’s daughter, Marieke Derksen, via Twitter and indicated that her father was a big fan of Derksen. “They often think the same about things. Like Derksen, Dad also thinks that vaccination should be mandatory. Like Derksen, he also has little interest in the whole ‘woke thing’. And positive discrimination to get more women and minorities at the top? Nonsense.”
Veronica Inside – The very best of Veronica Inside 2021
“Equal opportunities based on experience and skills, right? They only disagree about referee Bas Nijhuis. According to my father, he could use his flute a bit more”, says the cultural scientist and journalist. There was little laughter in the ICU. “But because of Derksen, who had recorded a video especially for him. It’s special, because they don’t know each other after all.” It was a nice distraction from the depressing hospital bed. “On the other hand, he does not say that it moved him. You don’t have to, we know.”
Stoter Boscolo’s father is also straightforward, just a man of few words. “He would like to thank Derksen for the effort, but he is not sure how. That’s why we do it this way. ‘Especially keep watching VI’, you said in the video, because ‘that makes a person better’. VI is now off the air, and your new program will start in January. Loyal viewer Alan is already ready for the tube.”