Tuesday 7 October 2014

You paint yourself - Finland 4 :The sailor

                                                    and so it came that off I sailed...
                                                    into the army sea...
                                                    ready to become a true officer....

but it did not take me more than a week before I noticed it really was not my thing.  =D

Don´t know if it was the way they marched us to the toilets, or the fact I hated the idea of having to poo in group, having friendly conversations with a bunch of other guys pressing their foodly contents into the bowls...
        or was it the "Taakse poistu" endless game they played with us... having us run back and forth without any point to it.
     IT might have been waking up in the morning to a screaming officer... or skiing after a bunch of guys who were born with skis under their feet... desperately trying to keep up... watching them disappear into the distance... then suddenly seeing them again, taking a break... the length of a cigarette (tupakan mittainen taukko)...
                                    feeling joyful relief knowing that not too far away is waiting rest....
only to find out that it does not take THAT long to smoke a cigarette...
                                                                                 and the group is leaving rested as I arrive to the once resting place sweating and out of breath.

   Maybe it was the fact that when I complained about the unfairness of putting a Spaniard to ski with Finns... they solved the problem by exchanging my light attack "rynnäkkö kivääri" for a heavy machine gun.... but
    I certainly did not like it either when we had to pedal on our bikes for hours under the guidance of an officer who supposedly knew where we were headed to...
        only to find out... when our groins were already bleeding...
            that he was lost and had been so - probably for the biggest part of his life! =D

                                                       One thing or another
                                                      the little gentleman inside
                                                      decided he had way too much on his hands...

and it might be a good idea to skip the "officer" plan.

   Being a person with a decent IQ... I figured out that the best way to ensure not getting selected for the officer training would be not to learn the language too quick... in fact... I decided to give the impression I was not learning at all.
     However... because of my dislike for the place I made sure I did superbly in all competitions where "kuntsarit" (points for free weekends and days off) were distributed. So... I ran fine, shot great... and assembled my weapon in no time... earning many days off with my girlfriend
                        ... allways making sure I was going in the wrong direction or doing the wrong thing when delivered an order in Finnish.

                                                    Believe it or not... my plan backfired....
and I found my name on the list for those chosen to become officers.
 I think any other time in my life I might have accepted this - as destiny...
                                                                but not now: I marched into the Captains office and in my most brutal Finnish ( much like the language Tarzan used when he met his sweet-heart) I asked how I was supposed to lead a bunch of guys into war IF they could not understand me. I guess my Finnish was bad enough... cause despite the Captain not understanding at first - he got my point.

   I became a foot soldier " jääkäri" and was posted in Helsinki because of my talent with other languages =D
     A much easier life with two big advantages... I could see normal civilians every day and I had time to do some drawing!!!!

                                                            Thus, a happier me survived
                                                           what was left of my eight months,
and wondered, when the time was over... if they had made me a "kunnia jääkäri" (honourable foot soldier) because of my language... or drawing skills
                                                                     =D
Some dreams however...
                      don´t die easy.... and for some reason there still was a spark in me wanting the title of officer.

I was a free man again... seeking for what it might be I would like to do with my life... when I saw an ad calling young people in to try and make it to pilot schooling.  I am not sure if around this time I had been to watch "Top Gun"...
                                   or if my mothers tales of her times at Finnair with hot shot pilots (after the second world war) had stirred something in me... but
                                                     I decided it might be worth a shot.
               
                                                        I know I loved the idea that
                                                        "only a few have what it takes"...

           so I was totally out of myself when after the extensive tests I got accepted!

                                                   =D =D =D
                                                  H   U   U   U   U  U  U  U  R  A  Y  Y
    sempre fi!!!!
         YES!!!!!
          I was so much closer to becomming an officer now!

         The wonderful thing, of being a sailor at sea... is that winds can change at any moment.Its unpredictable, its fun... its an adventure.

There was another fire burning in me... one that had been warming my soul for many years. I believe the fact that I had been accepted to pilot training proved to me that my officer desire was achievable... 
                   so before accepting I decided to explore the possibility of a career as an artist.

I was not successful in Finland - made it to the final rounds at what used to be "Ateneum"... but was told I was not eligible because I had too much of an own style already -  I was not malleable....

      but... refusing to give up... I did make it, in the end... to a much more interesting adventure!

                                         I was 22,
                                                       when I jumped into my canoe


                                         and rode the waves... off
  
                                                                   to the BIG APPLE!
                                          Back in the days when there still were 2 towers!

                                          

      




   
                                                         

1 comment:

  1. And now we approach Brooklyn, lol! Cant wait for your NYC adventures!
    Rudy

    ReplyDelete