Okay, Folks, here goes again. I've haven't posted a good ole' Adventures of Ole and Lena blog for many years now. And due to the number of requests I've had over the last year to resurrect Ole and Lena I'll give it a go. Over the years, lots of things have happened that have caused me to put Ole and Lena on the back burner. But don't worry - they aren't dead yet - they've just been simmering in this old brain and hopefully I can entertain you once again. All I ever did previously was to write about happenings in my life never thinking or anticipating that you folks would find it entertaining and on occasion get a bit of a chuckle. But that's the way it goes, doesn't it?
Lots of my previous stories were about things that happened when we lived in Iceland back in 1969 - 1971 when Ole was a member of the United States Navy. So you'll probably hear more about that - in fact I may even repost some of those old sagas. (That's the Scandihoovian word for tale in case you didn't know. Just need to keep you educated here, okay?)
Speaking of TALES, and being Ole is a former sailor, I really need to inform you of the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story. You know, sailors were always famous (or infamous) for telling sea stories - highly embellished tales of what happened to them either at sea or in port. And I'm sure you all know what a fairy tale is - but I bet you didn't know this: Fairy tales and sea stories always start out "Once upon a time." Now the big difference comes at the end where a fairy tale always ends "And they lived happily ever after." A sea story always ends "And this ain't no sh*t!!
So I may even include some of the sea stories that Ole has repeated over the years at various ports. Hmmm - and then again maybe not (chuckle). If I do I promise to keep it clean.
So I suppose I better introduce myself for those of you who don't know me and for you non-Scandihoovians who may not know who Ole and Lena are. Scandihoovians have always been known for their sense of humor and the ability to laugh at themselves. We can make some pretty serious "cracks" about our heritage and daily hijinx and not come out offended as seems to be the norm these days with other ethnic groups.
I'm what's known as a "half-breed" - now don't go getting your shorts in a knot about that comment. I joke about it because my mother was all Swedish and my father was a pure Norwegian. I'll write about being a "half breed" at a later date, but back in the 30s and in the area that my parents grew up and lived the Norwegians and Swedes didn't mix. It had something to do with how Sweden took over Norway centuries ago and I guess the two countries were still holding a grudge or something in the 20th century. So anyway - you can imagine the inner turmoil that I grew up with and still have at times knowing that the two races that I'm made up of don't/didn't get along. No wonder I get indigestion sometimes. Now Ole is a Finlander - and technically, Finland is/was not considered part of the Scandihoovian countries even though it was at one time controlled by them. But I let him PRETEND to be Scandihoovian so he doesn't feel bad. There's just a little German in his background, too, that accounts for the stubborn portion. But I try to overlook that and pretend it's not there. MOST of the time I'm successful, but sometimes not. So that makes our daughter and our little granddaughter quite a mixture.
I was born in central North Dakota and my father was a farmer. We moved off the farm when I was 3 as my father took a job as a road construction worker. Naturally the company he worked for followed the road construction and we lived in a trailer house moving from place to place like gypsies. There again, just a forewarning. Don't raise your blood pressure with the use of the word "gypsy." It's not meant in a demeaning way, but when I wrote about that previously I was contacted and smeared all over the internet by a young college student from Texas because I was such a racist. I will repost that story in the future if I can still find it back in the archives. My growing up years were spent in one location where I met Ole in high school. This big tall Finlander captured me heart and we have been Ole and Lena for almost 53 years now. So there's the basics of who I am and where I come from.
Stay tuned for more adventures - Oh, and BTW, feel free to comment below just keep it clean and be nice. To bad we have to add that, but I see SO much nasty, uncalled for stuff on Facebook. Also, feel free to ask any questions you might feel inclined to. I'll answer if I can - and then again, maybe I won't
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