Dale Stubitsch, memoir of
You just
won't believe the time I had over in
Jim and Sue Mahoney, Kenny Solomon, Janie Lindenbaum
and myself came over from the States. We also met Tam
and Cheryl who had come over from
The trip started on Wednesday morning with about 14 hours worth of plane travel
and all of about 20 minutes of sleep onboard. By the time I arrived I was
feeling ragged and worn down so my excitement level wasn't quite what I
expected it to be. Maybe that is a good thing because otherwise I might have
broken down and cried when I set foot on Norwegian soil. Despite my exhaustion
I just couldn't believe I was FINALLY there! As the saying goes, it's not the
destination, it's the journey and there was a very small part of me that feared
that being there in
I was met by the smiling faces of Eirik Hansen, Kenny
and Janie (who had arrived an hour earlier than me). At this point, it all
became very real and I knew the adventure was about to begin. We waited for Jim
and Sue, who landed an hour after I did and when we saw them walk out I let out
a big "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO" to greet them. The entire crowd
of people in the airport turned around to look at me and see who was so
important to elicit such a response.
Jim, Sue and I hopped into Eirik's car while Janie
and Kenny made there way back to Moss via bus. We were treated to some
sightseeing along the way and stopped off at Holmkollen,
the original scheduled site of the Subtacto fest. Holmkollen is a huge ski jump that was used in previous
Olympics. We snapped a few photos of this and the surrounding area and made our
way back to Erling Midstue's,
where I was staying for the week.
We met Erling's wife Anni
and his darling children, son Aksel, age 1 ½ and
appropriately decked out in a Motorhead t-shirt and
daughter Hedda, age 4. Erling
suggested I might want to take a short nap after being sleep deprived for the
past 24 hours but I feared if I did I would be a zombie for the rest of the
evening so I wisely declined. For all the lack of sleep, which
seemed to be a theme for the stay, the excitement more than made up for it as I
often found second, third and fourth winds to keep me humming along without
issue. Erling took out a bottle of Aquavit and
a couple of small shot glasses, explaining that they usually celebrate major
events, such as Christmas, with a shot. We toasted and I felt completely
honored, for this was, indeed, a VERY special occasion for me. Erling and Anni treated us to a
wonderful meal on the back deck of their new home, which is just off the
straight that leads out to the island where most of the band lives and records
and eventually to the fjords. There were several delicious items but the most
memorable was a slightly sweet brown cheese that was very good.
After the meal the ten of us hopped in cars and made our way over to Kim and Lene Stenberg's home. This is where things really kicked
into high gear because we got to see so many familiar faces. JT and his wife Metta, Lars, and Gilbert from Magic Pie, Rune and Bjorn,
who are friends of the band that had come over to Rosfest
2007, and Tore Bo Bendixen and his lovely wife
Ann-Kristin from the Retroheads all greeted us with
warm smiles and enthusiasm as the good times began to roll. We also met Kim's
younger brothers, Tommie, who helped write lyrics for the new album, and Mats,
an aspiring guitarist who has quite a good teacher and inspiration in his
brother Kim. We were treated to spectacular meal, the absolute highlight being
the fresh grilled salmon that was like nothing I have ever tasted. I get the
impression that Norwegians love to eat and eat well! We all talked on the
porch, drank beers and shots of Jack Daniel's, and made our way to the basement
of Kim and Lene's home where the video of the Magic
Pie concert in
At one point Eirik broke out an acoustic guitar and I
joined him on, of all things, Norwegian Wood, which I had prepared for the trip.
How appropriate is that?? The folks upstairs heard the guitars and came
downstairs to check us out. After a brief pause my fingers did what came
natural after three months of working on transcriptions of the new Magic Pie
album and broke into the opening arpeggios of Circus of Life. I was a bit
nervous playing their music for them because they would notice any mistakes or
imperfections but they were all actually very impressed that I did this, which
made me feel very comfortable. Eirik, Kim and Gilbert
all joined in on guitars and at the conclusion Bjorn was just over the top with
disbelief and shouted, "Now all he needs to do is
Freakshow." I hope I didn't blow his mind too
much because that's what I broke into next. After hacking my
way through that we all went right into the third part of the Circus of Life
suite, What If. We all sang along and had a marvelous time.
At this point, something that I would have never have
dreamed in a million years happened, something so very special that it was a
defining moment for me. Kim had emailed me a while back and very graciously
asked if I would like to jam with Magic Pie at a rehearsal. Well, after this
impromptu little session my dream had been fulfilled and I was simply ecstatic
that this had finally materialized after all the anticipation. However, it was
about to get better- much better! The band was not only playing the Subtacto fest on Saturday but also doing a solo gig in
their hometown of Moss on Friday. Kim came up to me and said something that
will continue to blow my mind for the rest of my life. "Dale, would you
like to perform with us tomorrow night?" I only wish that someone could
have taken a picture of my face at that moment because I have never known such
a feeling of surprise- shock, actually. I gasped and said, "Are you
KIDDING??" Of course, Norwegian people are very honest, serious and mean
what they say so, no, he was NOT kidding. I was completely FLOORED! I was
already over the top with excitement at having jammed with them in the
basement. Was I even close to being ready to actually get on stage with Magic
Pie??? I had my sincere doubts but knew that I could not pass up the
opportunity of a lifetime. I asked Kim if there were anyway possible that I
could meet with him on Friday to go over some guitar riffs with him if I were
going to make this happen. Very graciously, he said that he was home all day
and I could come over any time. I debated about sleeping on his floor that
night and waking him up at the crack of dawn but thought better of it. I asked Erling if he could drive me over the house in the morning
and he happily agreed. It was already quite late and I asked Erling if we could leave soon because Friday was going to
be a very long day. We left and got back to his house around
After Erling made a good breakfast for us he drove me
over to Kim's house while the rest of the American crew went about their visit.
I got to meet Kim and Lene's daughters, Marielle and Caroline, who are about 4 years old and simply
lovely children. They are the first voices you hear on the Circus of Life
album. Kim kindly showed me many guitar runs that I either needed brushing up
on or had wrong on the three main songs I have worked on transcribing- Change, Freakshow and Pointless Masquerade. All of them were
lacking on my part, as I had not gotten all of the new material worked out yet
and Change was rather rusty because I had not really worked on it for over a
year when I first transcribed all the guitar parts. Kim showed me riffs that I
was missing and corrected mistakes but I was really getting worried that this
was not going to work out so well. I am not a very good guitarist, even at the
top of my game, and it had been a while since I had seriously been practicing.
I am serious perfectionist and if the slightest thing is wrong I choke up and
freeze. I have to have the right guitar pick, the strap has to be adjusted just
so, I have a horrible memory so I always rely on exact notation and also have a
terrible phobia of making mistakes- particularly in front of other people. I
continued to work on licks for the remainder of the afternoon but knew deep
down that I wasn't going to be perfect. I only prayed that I would not make a
fool of myself- and especially the band.
Erling came by to pick me up and made dinner for us
and a few others who came by before the show. I hated to be rude but snuck off
upstairs to practice some more on Erling's guitar.
The worst part was that we had not agreed on what song I would play with the
band! If there's one thing I really can't stand is not being prepared and
leaving something as important as this up in the air was nagging at me. Would
it be Freakshow, which I could play almost all of
perfectly, Pointless Masquerade, which had large gaps, or Change, which I was
rusty on?? I almost turned into a neurotic mess and nearly skipped dinner as
much from nerves as the desire to keep practicing. After another wonderful
dinner (I can't recall what we had as my mind was completely elsewhere at this
point), we all hopped into a chauffeured van with Tam, Cheryl, Erling, Anni, Jim, Sue, Kenny and
Janie that drove us off to the Queen's Pub. They had a nice sound system and a
karaoke set-up so we all sang Highway to Hell and a couple of other songs at
the top of lungs on the way over.
Someone had been very thoughtful and reserved a booth for the American's and
after I used my debit card to get some Norwegian Kroners,
sat down with most of the others to have a beer. I got to meet Kim's dad who
along with Tommie, Mats and Lene, joined us in the
booth. The place filled up and was completely packed by the time that Magic Pie
came onstage. The overflow crowd sat out on the patio where it was refreshingly
cool. Kenny introduced the band (brush up on that Norwegian for the next time,
son) and the band launched into a smoking hot first set. This was the third
time I have seen Magic Pie and, though it's hard to separate the band's
performance from the ecstatic time I was having, may have been the best I have
seen them play. They were exceptionally tight, which was no surprise but the
sound in the pub was just perfect! I have gotten particularly fussy over the
years with a band's mix and overall sound but had no complaints whatsoever. I
can't recall the name of the person who ran the soundboard but he has worked
with Magic Pie before and knew exactly what he was doing.
Everyone in Queen's Pub knew who we were and reacted with delight when we
affirmed that, yes, we were the Americans. I never felt so welcome in my life.
When I came back inside after the first set, there was a beautiful, sandy
blonde woman sitting in our booth. I joked with her that she needed to be
American to sit there and she responded that she was tired and just needed to
sit for a moment. I told her it was no problem, as she was now an honorary
American. Her name was Liv and she was really getting
into the music. At one point I asked her a favor. "Would you please hold
my camera later when I ask you?" "Yes, of course," was her
reply.
The band played Freakshow early on in the set so
playing that song was out of the question. I knew I wasn't ready to get up on
stage to play Pointless Masquerade and, with Change being so rusty, I began to
think that maybe it was just best that I didn't get invited up on stage, which
would have been somewhat disappointing, yet understandable but would not have
ruined the fantastic time I was having and would continue to have. I moved up
closer to the stage at one point and saw this beautiful blonde woman in a short
black dress. I could hear her singing and she had a lovely voice. In fact, most
of the crowd was singing along, much to my amazement until I reminded myself
that, d'uh, I was in Magic Pie's hometown so it
should have not have been a surprise at all. One person who was not a local and
was perhaps the most spirited in the crowd was Tam from
The second set was almost over when Erling shouted
over to me "You're on!" I just about freaked but turned to Liv and handed her my camera. I walked up to the very
crowded stage, took Allan's blue Stratocaster and slipped it on. Allan is a
large man and the instrument fit me as if I were
trying to imitate Jimmy Page but none of this mattered. I was going to forge
through and make this happen despite being a complete bundle of nerves. Sue
tells me when I first walked up there I looked like I was scared shitless- I
WAS!!! Eirik went into a lengthy one-minute
introduction in Norwegian so I have no idea what he said but he mentioned my
name at the end and said I was the 'transcription guy.' I got up the nerve to
say a few words into the mic. "Forgive me if I
make a few mistakes for I am very nervous. I have never played with a better
group of musicians, but more importantly, I have never played with a better
group of people in my life. Let's hear it for Magic Pie!" The enthused
crowd gave the band a loud round of applause and we went into Change. Toward
the end of the song Eirik, bless his heart, told the
crowd that I was the new lead guitarist in Magic Pie and the crowd ate it up.
At the conclusion of the song everyone started chanting my name over and
over!!!!!! I don't want this to go to my head but this was a totally transcendent
moment!!!!
I just couldn't get over this! There is no way on earth I could have ever
conceived of this two years ago when I first heard Change on Kenny's show and
fell in love with it. I really wanted to learn this 20-minute epic and, though
I had never done anything like this before, I decided to write the band and ask
if they had any music or chord changes they could send to me. Eirik replied that they had the words but no music. I
responded that I would rectify that situation and began to transcribe the
guitar parts note for note. I wrote to Kim, asking him about this riff or that
chord change but he wisely said it would be easier to videotape him playing it
as opposed to talking about it via email. He graciously taped four avi files and sent them to me. Just to communicate with the
band and have Kim send me files to help with my transcription was fantastic;
seeing them at Rosfest 2006 was even better; meeting
them and having them all know who I was ('the notes guy') was exhilarating;
hanging with them all weekend and getting to know them a treat; seeing them
again the next year a complete bonus; thanking me by name in the Circus of Life
booklet an absolute mind bender, being invited over to Norway an extraordinary
honor; staying with them and being shown around all week a privilege; being
invited to share a stage with them at one of their best gigs..... There are no
words, even for someone as verbose as me. I don't know if I can say that it
makes me believe in God but it certainly makes me believe in Heaven!
After I got off stage, I hugged Jim and told him I was so glad that I had
witnesses because none of my friends back home would believe my story! Kenny
filmed the entire gig so, not only are there pictures, but film and sound of it
as well. I went back to retrieve my camera from Liv
and she was completely amazed. "Dale, I had NO idea when you asked me to
hold your camera this was why!" I smiled at her and as I did, she began to
caress my beard and told me "Everyone wants to be your friend, Dale"
I melted!!! Sadly, I lost her at the end of the night but she said she was Eirik's neighbor. I am on a mission to find this woman
again so I can thank her for sharing in one of the most special moments of my
life. Sidsel came over to me as we went out on the patio
for a drink. We were having a very pleasant conversation when Erling informed me that we had to leave right away, as his
wife Anni was not feeling well. I kissed Sidsel's hand and gave her 500 Kroners
for a cab to make sure she got home alright. I was lucky enough to get her
phone number and email address and called her the next day to tell her that it
was truly a pleasure to meet her. One woman even told me that she wanted to
have my babies!!! All I can say is it feels GREAT to be a rock star in
We got back to Erling's around
Saturday morning was rough and I felt achy beyond belief. I almost took a pass
on going to Oslo for the Subtacto fest, even after
taking a long, hot bath. Fortunately, Erling made a
very nourishing breakfast for us, which helped considerably. We joined up with
the others and hopped a train into Oslo, where we strolled down the main street
to do some sightseeing and mild shopping. One highlight was a fierce looking statue
of a small man in armor, complete with sword. I saw him as I walked up the
street and as I stood there for a few minutes, about 100 feet away, got the
shock of my life. The statue jumped to life and almost lashed out at young man
who walked by! I was completely startled and must have jumped back a couple
feet. This had been a mime that had been frozen in place the entire time! After
that, we saw the King's palace and made our way to the Subtacto
fest.
Pepe's Pizza was right next-door and we saw some
familiar faces as we walked up- Frodo from England in a Minnesota Viking
jersey, Stein/Progdog from Norway with his perpetual
smile and energetic vibes and his friend Arnie, as
well as a couple of others whose names I can't recall right now. We went off to
the fest and caught the first band, a project formed by the original drummer of
the Retroheads. They were good but the acoustics in
the building were not the best. It had been built as a military factory during
the German occupation in WWII. The large hall the bands played in was somewhat
stark and made up of concrete walls and glass windows, which did not compliment
the sound very well. Someone suggested that the organizers should have put
material on the walls and floor, which might have helped. Erling
suggested that we get something to eat before we got too hungry so I did not
catch their entire set. We went back to Pepe's and
ran into most of the others we had come with. I had a very good Italian style
pizza with feta cheese, black olives and a leafy ingredient I can't recall.
Sadly, the much-needed lunch caused us to miss the opening of the Retroheads, who Kenny got to introduce, but we caught the
rest of the set, which was very good. I was grateful to have a second
opportunity to see this band, having been introduced to them for the first time
at Rosfest 2007. I was surprised at how well I
remembered some of the songs from three months earlier, not having heard them
since. Obviously, they made an impression on me! Mike Mann, the lead singer,
was his usual energetic self. Tommy Bere played some
very fiery guitar leads and sounded wonderful. Deborah Gurnius
and Ann-Kristin added lovely backing vocals as well as flute, acoustic guitar
and keyboards. Morton on drums, Gry on keyboards and
Tore on bass and vocals all did a fine job. I later asked Tore about his
inspiration for their finale where the members all walk off the stage one by
one as the song winds down. He said it just seemed like a nice way to end a
set, which it most definitely is. He was surprised when I informed him that the
classical composer, Franz Joseph Haydn had done a similar thing with his
Farewell Symphony, perhaps as a way to suggest to the royalty they were
visiting that the musicians were tired and wanted to go back home. My only regret
was not hearing a song I recall from the Rosfest set
that featured Ann-Kristin on lead vocals. I recall thinking afterward that, in
light of the technical difficulties she had with her keyboards at Rosfest, this woman didn't need ANY keys with a beautiful
voice like that! If anyone recalls what this song was, please let me know as I
got her to promise she would sing it for me next time we met.
After a short break the next band up was Black Bonzo,
a band Erling had introduced me to while staying at
his house. I enjoy their style of music, which has obvious influences of Deep
Purple and Uriah Heep and
has a definite early 70's vibe to it. I was looking forward to seeing them,
especially as I was getting a sneak peek of Rosfest
2008. The five-piece band (organ, guitar, bass, drums and lead singer) played
very well and, despite the acoustics of the room, sounded very good. I
particularly like the guitarist who captured the early 70s vibe with panache.
If you don't mind a retro-style and enjoy Deep Purple and Uriah
Heep you should definitely enjoy this band.
Next up was Magic Pie and much of the crowd seemed to have come for them, as
the front area by the stage was packed with bodies. Tam had the honor of doing
the introduction and did a marvelous job. His enthusiasm is contagious! Magic
Pie came out and did another fine set but Kim later admitted to me that it was
very difficult to hear each other on stage. Maybe because of this I found the
Friday night set to have been of better quality. Certainly, the overall sound
was better the night before but there's only so much you can do with a
converted canon factory. One of the absolute funniest moments was when Lars
walked over to Kim, leaned down and stuck the neck of his bass between Kim's
legs. He never missed a beat nor even cracked a smile, nailing his hot, speedy
leads without flaw. The only down side to an otherwise fine performance was
that the schedules were getting behind and suddenly, without warning, Magic Pie
had to quit without doing their last song, Change. This was a real
disappointment and came as a surprise to everyone, however, each and every band
was starting later and later than scheduled. As many people needed to take the
last train from Oslo at 1am it was probably a wise tactical move but made us
appreciate the extended Friday gig all that much more.
Sadly, I missed Host and Saga, the former being one of the bands I really
wanted to see, especially after my newfound friend and long lost 'twin brother'
Ketil had ranted and raved about them. Eirik had found me after the Pie set and implored me to
meet his co-worker so it was back to Pepe's for more
beer and friendship. Ketil was wise to go back to the
fest to catch Host but Norwegian Pilsner's are heavy (and with more alcohol
content) and not easy to chug. Besides, I was having a great time talking with
new and old friends outside. As the John Sebastian song goes "Did you ever
have to make up your mind?"
One of the eeriest moments of the trip occurred as I sat out on Pepe's patio when a tall gent with a smiling, wide-eyed
look turned pointedly and walked up to me, simply exclaiming "Jethro Tull!!!" I thought to
myself "Oh crap! Here's someone I met at Nearfest
and mentioned my new project to- a Tull tribute band-
but can't recall. How embarrassing!" I apologized
to him for not remembering his name and asked if we had met at Nearfest. When he told me we hadn't I really got spooked! I
asked him why on earth he had spotted me out of the blue to march up to and
decry the name of the band. He just gave me a sort of knowing smile with a
gleam in his eye, saying, in effect, that he just sensed it about me!!! I told
him this was uncanny as I was about to get started on my Tull
tribute band as soon as I returned home. Too weird! His name is Paul and he seemed
to have an otherworldly sensitivity about him as we chatted and drank a beer
together. Ketil, his friend Ketil,
Nina, Elizabeth and Metta were among the people I
continued to chat with the rest of the evening at Pepe's
as Saga played their set across the way. I like Saga but not as much as I like
the splendid people of Norway so I feel I made the right choice! Kenny broke us
all up when he walked in and told me I was being paid for my performance with
Magic Pie the previous night and dropped a small Tootsie Roll on the table as
he walked away. I was still howling as he returned and excitedly shouted that
my pay had been doubled and dropped another one off for me!! Too funny!!! I
think I will seriously frame it the way upstart businesses do with their first
dollar. We needed to get going after this to make the 1am train. Ketil joined us and we talked music, music and more music
the whole ride back. After Erling and I got back to
his home, we sat out on the porch, looking at stars, having a shot of Aquavit
and talking about David Lynch movies and life in general.
After another short sleep, Sunday brought a nice twist. Kenny and Janie were
meeting up with some of the Retroheads in Oslo and I
was initially going to join them. Erling had a last
minute idea and offered to drive me to Sweden with his kids, which was only a
50-minute drive away, just as far as Oslo was in the other direction. He left
it up to me but I told him it didn't matter WHAT I did in Norway. Everything
was a win-win proposition. Just BEING there was win-win as far as I was
concerned! I opted for a trip to yet another foreign country. We drove to the Fredriksen fortress, where Norway made a stand against the
Swede's in 1661. I got some great shots from there and then we headed off to
Sweden for ice cream on the coast. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I realized
that, despite being told that this was one of the worst summers in recent
history, full of rain and cooler temperatures, any time we needed to be
outdoors, the weather was pleasant and sunny while the days we needed to do
things indoors it was cloudy. Dinner was at Rune's with her daughter Ingrid,
Jim and Sue, Gilbert, Eirik and Gry.
We had a meatball cakes, a scrumptious cabbage and cream sauce dish and
potatoes. Ingrid, Gry and Rune prepared the meal for
us and after a dessert of ice cream and coffee we headed over to Kim's for some
wine and more friendship.
Rune and Ingrid did not join us at Kim and Lene's but
it was a very pleasant evening and I found my wine glass being filled every
time it emptied. We had some good conversation and laughs, particularly when I
asked to buy the remaining four autographed copies of Circus of Life. I reached
into my backpack to pull a wad of cash and told them that I must have had a
very famous Norwegian in my family tree. I gave Gilbert the money to pay for
the CDs and he stared at the 200 Kroner bills before
he started cracking up. I passed a few more around to everyone and got a good
round of laughs from everyone. My sister had taken a couple of 200 Kroner bills and pasted my face onto them so carefully you
almost couldn't tell they were fake. Even Kim, who has
a sense of humor but is typically shy and reserved, bust
a gut over them. Afterward, at any appropriate moment in the conversation I
grabbed my wad of cash and shouted out "I'll pay for that!" It was
late when we left and we said some preliminary goodbyes because we probably
wouldn't be seeing some of these fine folks before we left.
Monday, Gilbert was kind enough to offer to take us to Oslo to see a
magnificent statue park and across the bay to the Kontiki
museum. We all left at 8am and took the train into Oslo. Kenny, being the
perfect gentleman he always is, offered his seat to a young woman as the train
filled up with Monday morning commuters. A few minutes later a stunning
brunette got on and I did the same. She actually refused me several times but I
insisted. As the train began to clear, I sat in the row behind my friends. An
older woman got off at the next stop and did a small, but very touching thing
that made me feel like a million dollars. As she stood in the aisle she touched
my shoulder and said "That was a very generous thing you did." The
warmth and gratitude in her eyes was deeply moving. Then, before she got off
the train, she touched my shoulder one more time and said, "It used to be
that way here but not anymore." I was just knocked out that someone else
would not only notice but comment on this very tiny act of kindness. This moved
me for the rest of the day.
Gilbert took us to Frogner Park that contains the
very famous Vigeland Sculpture Park with over 200
granite life-like statues of naked people in a variety of poses and ages. These
statues are not sensual in the least, though have caused a bit of a stir over
the years. They are natural and very expressive, capturing a wide range of
intense human emotions. I wish I had more pictures from the park but was often
having trouble with recharging my cameras batteries during the trip. The park
is huge and we all have some glorious shots. After that we took the ferry to
the Kontiki museum. Kontiki
was an experiment to see if, using just balsa wood, early settlers could have
made the trip in distant times to Easter Island. After 101 days in the Pacific
Ocean, the crew finally made it and has a reasonable hypothesis of how someone
made it to this remotest of all places in the world. We took pics from the coastline and went back via ferry to have
lunch and a few beers on the waterfront at a very nice restaurant. After that,
we hit a few stores on our way back to the train.
After the tiring day, which was very sunny and had temperatures around 85 F (25
C), we were almost ready for our first moment of rest and relaxation. I knew I
would finally sleep well with all the walking we did, not to mention the sleep
deprivation we had happily imposed upon ourselves during our stay. However,
there was even MORE to come. On the ride back, Tore and Ann-Kristin from the Retroheads invited everyone over for a barbeque. All the
Americans and almost the entire Magic Pie crew, along with some friends, family
and band mates of Tore and Ann-Kristin joined us at Ann-Kristin's mother's
cottage on this huge expanse of land on the beach. There must have been a good
20 people there and tables were set up outside in a long row to accommodate us.
There was enough food there to feed an army and the scenery was simply
breathtaking. I met Ann-Kristin's sister Grunya
(spelling?) and her boyfriend Jake, Ann-Kristin's brother
Thomas, the Retroheads drummer Morton and reunited
with Kim, Marielle and Caroline, JT and Metta, Gilbert and Vinka, Lars
and his girlfriend Avelyn (spelling?), Erling, Aksel and Hedda. There was also a young boy named Alexander and a
delightfully mature 6-year old girl named Maria but I'm not sure whose children
they were.
We had a great meal of barbequed pork chops, sausage, salad, corn, avocadoes,
and several other goodies, along with the prerequisite beer and wine. At one
point, I had a very deep discussion with JT, who I found is very much into
philosophy. Later, Tore bestowed upon me a very simple act of kindness that
spoke volumes about his nature. I have an aversion to cold and often get sick
when it is too cool out or am exposed to
air-conditioning for too long. Although I did not make a big deal out of it, I
made certain I did not take any chances of getting sick while I was there. I
could die after I came back for all I cared, just don't let me get sick while
I'm in Norway! To that end, I always wore turtlenecks and a scarf-like piece of
clothing and kept sweaters in my backpack just in case. Somehow, Tore noticed
this minor detail and, as I was standing on the grass, I felt someone slip a
jacket over my shoulders. I turned and saw that it was Tore. He said he did not
want me to get cold! I was overwhelmed by his considerateness. In fact, it was
more than that. A considerate person would have offered to get a jacket; he
simply went to get one and put it over my shoulders. I was very touched by this
act of kindness and blown away that he was so observant. It was a beautiful
gesture by a beautiful person. We all chatted with an air of poignancy for what
would be our last time before departing in the morning but were gladdened by
the certain hopes that it would not be our last time seeing our good friends,
and, probably not the last time we would be in Norway.
Tuesday morning was a bit sad but, as I had to get to the airport bus soon,
there was little time for reflecting. After saying goodbye to Anni, Erling drove me off the bus
stop where I met Gilbert, Kenny and Janie. We took some last pictures before
boarding the bus and hopping our lengthy flights back home. I will try to post
some of the more relevant pics on the PE board to
give you visuals of things I have talked about. All my 300 pics
can be found on photobucket.com. Here is the link:
http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/dalegtr/
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Dale
www.savenetradio.org
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