To My Dear Wife!

When I got married to you on May 30 1987 we were still so young. Young enough to not think about growing old. 20 years ahead?  No, that was way too much time to get worried about. But today it’s been MORE than 20 years. Soon, we have been married 28 years! Birthdays have come and gone. And today, you are turning 60. I know that you almost had a crisis when you turned 40.  But there was no crisis and there is none today either. I love you more than ever Bea and we have been going through soooo much. We have lived different places, had a change-over of jobs and you have been there with me all the time. I am feeling blessed that you, Bea, have been my partner through it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEA!

A New Follower Got Me Thinking Back In Time

When looking at my blog this morning I saw that a new follower had registered. He’s No.136 in the row and I know him from way back when I was very young (well, he was young too) and had just started out working as a stage technician at a Norwegian Theatre. Svenn was an actor then and the first role I saw him in was as one of the 7 dwarfs in “Snow-White”. (Svenn is far from being a dwarf) As far as I remember the accompanying music was the one of the Walt Disney Production. The Norwegian text is still ringing in my ears:  “Heihå, heihå nå synger vi og gå…”  It’s a long time ago – 38 years! I am right under the arrow with Svenn left of me in the picture. It was a lot of fun, especially as I had to learn Norwegian in one hell of a hurry. Took me all of 6 weeks until I got the hang of it. Svenn is now the head of the National Theatre on Greenland. So in a way we have become neighbours as Greenland is not that far away from the East Coast of Canada. Back in those days, life was a lot different from what it is today. There was no internet, no little cell phones. I do remember that the theatre bought a portable phone in 1978/79. It weighed about 15 pounds and was a huge thing. It marked the beginning of a technology revolution in communications we haven’t even seen the end of to this day.  Back in those days I didn’t even have a TV. Strangely, I wasn’t unhappy. Today, I tend to be desperate if I have no internet connection for a single day. What if I miss something? It’s definitely become a major part in most people’s lives. And it is modern communications and the internet which lets us re-connect with friends. Welcome as a follower, Svenn! Thanks for dropping by.

No Guns, No Police Violence–It’s The Swedish Way

It is no secret that European police utilizes different tactics than their North American colleagues. A recent incident on a New York City subway has brought this to the attention of Americans. Read on: Four Scandinavian police officers breaking up a fight on the subway has New Yorkers wondering if they should import new fuzz from Europe. Swedish cops break up Subway brawl and show up the NYPD Markus Åsberg, Erik Naslund, Samuel Kvarzell and Eric Jansberger were on their first day of a holiday in New York when they responded to a call for police help on the subway. “We thought maybe someone needed help,” 25-year-old Samuel told the New York Post. Are you injured?, a Swedish officer asks the victim. A video of the incident shows the four men calmly but decisively restraining a man after breaking up the fight.  The alleged assailant screams: “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” At which point the Swedish cops advise him to calm down, give him a reassuring pat on the back, and ask if he’s injured. It's all in stark contrast to the many videos of police brutality we've seen emerging form the U.S. over the past few months.  But back home in Sweden, their heroics have not been hailed with the same fervour. Samuel’s boss refused to take calls from the New York Post, but a police officer explained to them: “In Sweden, if you see something bad, you just do something to help . . . It’s ordinary, what they did.”

Moved!

After an incredible busy day we are finally again settled in our trailer. Compared to the place of where we have lived over the past 3 1/2 months, the “Highlands” atop of the North Saskatchewan River Valley, this is a rather simple, non-inspiring place of residence. But it will be for a short 5 weeks time only. Come June we will turn eastward once again to do a 5000km migration towards the Atlantic Ocean. Hopefully, with the weaker Canadian Dollar we will see more American Visitors coming across the border to experience Campobello Island. The next 2 days will be significantly colder than what we have seen over the last week, but the next heat wave is already underway for the coming week. Molly was showing quite a bit of bewilderment after moving back into the trailer. Every time I returned back to the trailer with an new armful of stuff from the van, she was right behind the door, clearly wondering whether I was about to leave her behind. However, after a couple of hours, as we all had settled down, she has accepted the new surroundings.