Posted on 06/27/2010 10:28:18 AM PDT by WesternCulture
Julie Lindahl has learnt to understand why Swedes disappear to their islands for the summer. These are places for rediscovering our humanity, she writes.
The tomato plants are in the boat with the bags of soil. A light wind blows across the lake and sways their delicate leaves, threatening to break them. I too lean forward at bow, mimicking their action and looking out to a land mass of rock, sand and virgin forest on the other side of the bay.
I am off to our island for the summer but there are still a hundred thoughts darting through my head: Did I respond to that VERY IMPORTANT e-mail? Have I updated my Facebook pages? Did I lock the door? Did I clear out the refrigerator? Did I cancel that appointment? Have I taken all of the papers and books that I need with me? The brain signals shoot back and forth at light speed, valiantly supporting the multi-tasking lifestyle that I'd love to overthrow.
As I stand up to pull the start cord on the motor, the boat sinks down into the water so that the tomato plants nearly get a watering. Like all Swedes headed out to their islands for the summer, I have overfilled my trusty vessel with supplies. The many packs of strong “Swedish” coffee which will be drunk at the dock after a dip in the cold lake in the mornings weigh heavy in the hull. The engine chokes, gasping at my sudden demand to speed across after a winter of hibernation in the shed.
Eventually it starts and we make it half way, until the engine splutters and gives out, refusing to start again until it has enjoyed a proper rest in the sun. I am irritated by my boat's non-compliance: doesn't it realize that I am a very busy person? Of course, I don't get an answer and resign myself to locking in the oars and carefully moving some of the bags of soil without sinking the boat so that I can position myself to row.
The first heave is just another irritation until eventually I find my rhythm. The tomato plants find this pace of things more agreeable than the fearsome speed generated by a functioning engine. The first real sweat of the year begins to gather on my back. This is an unexpected catharsis after a winter when sweating was a pipe dream.
I pause the oars and glance over at our cottage. Have the mice turned it into a snug home for themselves, and gnawed down all of the candles which I forgot to put away at the end of last summer? They scoff at my cheese traps which I find untouched most years. Did the pipes freeze and burst this winter, and will we have running water this year? Are the weeds pushing their way up under my covered flower beds? My mind starts flinging brain signals around again, still not willing to let go of possible future events in favor of the moment.
The landing is smooth. Long gone are my days of crashing into the dock. Today I could do this with my eyes shut. Still I've never learned to tie a sailor's knot, and therefore my boat will just have to settle for the self-styled clump that has always worked for me. I climb up onto the dock, look up at the house which seems fine from the outside, and decide to delay the discovery of the winter damage by having a rest. By now I've learned never to set off for the island without a thermos of coffee.
With my legs hanging freely over the water, I enjoy the first taste of coffee on summer's dock. Instinct takes over and the shoes come off so that my feet which have only known the inside of a thick, dark boot since the autumn can revel in the freedom of the cool water. There is something about starting with your feet that gets to your brain very quickly. Going barefoot during the summer is an old Swedish health remedy.
I've overthrown the tyranny of lists, schedules and multi-tasking for a while. My whole being rests and revels in the softness of the uncut green grass and the personal space created by silence. Here in this moment there is everything that I need: the water, the earth and the smell of young birch leaves. I am not my schedule, rather I am a person with real feet that have a need to touch the water. Summer is back and with this a time to return to our islands and remember who we are.
We Swedes drive more expensive cars and reside in better built homes than any other people on Earth do (and we pay for our own defence too!).
But this matters little in terms of real standards of living.
Nice summer homes are great, but the ability to fend off any other nation is better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khaa3y0i87s
“As an adversary, how good are you at what you do?”
“Very, very good.”
Sounds great! I think I’m jealous.
...and what precisely makes your homes any better constructed than those in Alaska or New Hampshire?
About your home page
“Abraham Lincoln, one of the finest minds in the history of Western thought, once said (in an solely American context though): “A house divided against itself cannot stand”.”
That wasnt Abraham Lincoln who coined that phrase...Abe was just quoting the One he read a lot...
The LORD Jesus Christ of the Christian Bible said that...
“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:25
Well, the propaganda has just worked on me. So count me in,, and i have a beautiful swedish mauser.
Can i set up a target range for a relaxation few shots each day? It’s a true joy to shoot, as accurate as my opinions, and has the kick of an angel’s shrug.
And i want to fish too.
Well, the propaganda has just worked on me. So count me in,, and i have a beautiful swedish mauser.
Can i set up a target range for a relaxation few shots each day? It’s a true joy to shoot, as accurate as my opinions, and has the kick of an angel’s shrug.
And i want to fish too.
Well, the propaganda has just worked on me. So count me in,, and i have a beautiful swedish mauser.
Can i set up a target range for a relaxation few shots each day? It’s a true joy to shoot, as accurate as my opinions, and has the kick of an angel’s shrug.
And i want to fish too.
And my swedish mauser has never been used for immoral purposes,,and has better steel than the ones from that country down south.
Yours must be new..mine are 90 years old...
“That wasnt Abraham Lincoln who coined that phrase...Abe was just quoting the One he read a lot...
The LORD Jesus Christ of the Christian Bible said that...
“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:25”
- Thanks for educating me.
We could all learn from the Bible.
I’ll stop by, as long as you have plenty of Svedka...
I’ll stop by, as long as you have plenty of Svedka...
And I want to go fishing too
Sweden has a summer? Must be long enough to grow tomatoes. Usually about 40 days or so if I recall.
“Sweden has a summer?”
- Actually, “cold” Sweden often boasts higher temperatures than Meditarranean Europe during the months of May and June due to the Gulf Stream.
Right now, the weather over here is very pleasant - and we’re rich too..
The Swedes have also the best air-defense; they pioneered the practice of electronically painting aircraft A, but then harvesting the energy reflected from aircraft A onto aircraft B, which assumes it's of no interest but is suddenly fired upon, usually at a point too late to permit for evasion.
Sweden is not large, but her defense technology is EXTREMELY rich.
“It’s not just subs where the Swedes are best, but also in field artillery, many vehicles, and ammunition.”
- I wouldn’t go that far, but thanks for the support.
Sweden indeed stands out among Western nations, but there’s a long road left to perfection.
Our government has reduced plenty of taxes lately and entrepreneurship has got much easier, but there still is so much creativity and business opportunity in Scandinavia still being crippled.
Scandinavia minus government could become Heaven on Earth...
ONE PERSON DOES ALL THIS..!!!
I read where Mrs. Tiger Woods is getting about $750 million dollars as a divorce settlement. Now that is rich. I bet she wishes now she had never been introduced to him. Too bad for the kids.
In Sweden, no one has to be poor:)
Single Swedish mother:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjJwqDa1QVI
She’s going to get you!
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