The village was relatively quiet, but by no means dead. Several market stalls in the village square were open, with their customers a mix of tired night owls and perky early birds.
Ante drove around the square in the direction of the parking lot. But instead of driving up the knoll to park his car he passed it by.
"Let's see if we can find the bowling alley everybody were talking about," Ante said, as he drove past the knoll towards the narrow street leading in behind the casino.
Bjorn nodded, thinking "why not", and started looking for the bowling alley, which turned out to be very easy to find. It was located along the road right behind the casino with a big neon sign above it saying "bowling" in bold letters, with the o drawn in the shape of a bowling ball, and the i and the l shaped as pegs.
The bowling alley was located next to a large shed that served as an auto garage, and with Ante driving slowly passed it, Bjorn had no trouble getting an impression of the place. There were at least three cars in there, and two men were hunched over the engine of one of them, clearly busy at work.
"This place really has everything," Bjorn commented as Ante took another left to get back to the square.
"It does seem so, doesn't it?" Ante agreed. "And to imagine that these people would otherwise have been locked up in the old asylum centres. What a waste of human resources."
"Yeah, you got a point there," Bjorn said with a nod. "It's actually better for everyone, isn't it? Bringing them all up her, I mean."
"Well, I think so anyway. It is a shame the way they have been treated."
"So why do you think they're protesting in places like Lier?"
"Good question. They must be thinking that this is some kind of hell."
"And it is, in a way, isn't it?" Bjorn said cheekily, knowing full well that Ante was rather fond of the arctic.
"Careful now, Bjorn!" Ante replied. "You're talking about my parent's home town. I have fond memories of this place, you know."
"I know. I just couldn't help myself."
Then, as Ante circled the village square a second time, Bjorn noticed the young black boy who had begged for money the other day, still hanging around Pingo where the odd bargain hunter was coming out with trolley loads of stuff. And sure enough, he was already at it, running over to people to offer his help as they came out of Pingo.
"You don't see that much any more do you?" Bjorn wondered out loud as he saw the kid rush over to a man with a full trolley.
"What?" Ante asked.
"Kids offering to help people for a penny or two."
"No, kids stopped doing that long time ago."
Bjorn nodded thoughtfully. He could remember his grandmother telling him about these things still being quite common during her father's time, and wondering whatever happened to that kind of service oriented attitude. So even his grandmother thought it a forgotten habit. Yet, here in Lundby, the olden days were in some respect being revived. Kids were out in the streets looking for ways to make a penny or two.
The desperation caused by the rampant poverty in the village had revived the old and much forgotten habit of always trying to find a way to make a penny.
Showing posts with label bowling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bowling. Show all posts
Monday, September 15, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
89
Bjorn looked again over at the table where they were selling drugs. From where he was sitting it all looked quite innocent, and to risk his life in order to stop it seemed right out absurd. However, it would not surprise him if an order to arrest David and Jan, and the two peddlers too, would come from Oslo one day, and was he then really going to risk his life in order to act on such an order? He doubted it. And thinking about it some more, Bjorn thought it an impossible idea. If Oslo ever was to issue an arrest order on those guys, they would have to send a proper SWAT team to do the job. Bjorn and his colleagues were border guards, neither motivated nor trained to deal with dope dealing gangsters.
Bjorn decided to go over to the men's room, both due to a sudden urge to go there, and out of curiosity for the drug dealing. But even as he passed the drug dealers' table, he got no sense that anything very sinister was going on. And on returning to his colleagues' table, he completely forgot about the drug dealers, suddenly being preoccupied by the whereabouts of Frank instead. He hadn't seen Frank in a while, and it struck him as odd that his boss should have completely disappeared, just like that.
"Where is Frank?" Bjorn asked as he sat down with his colleagues again.
"I don't know," Ante answered. "I last saw him in the room with the roulette table. Why don't you go and check, if you're curious?"
Bjorn did not feel like getting up right away, so he remained seated, listening in on his colleagues making plans for next Friday instead, which was what the conversation had moved onto while Bjorn had been away. Both Espen and Thomas were insisting on including bowling as a part of their program, recounting a favourable review by Ola and Per who had started their evening at the newly opened alley.
"We can go bowling before dinner, just like Ola and Per did," Espen suggested. "But where should we go for dinner?"
"I don't know," Ante commented thoughtfully. "There's only Nora's place and Peppe's Pizza. I don't think there's any other place to go... Unless they serve food at the bowling alley. Maybe we could eat there?"
"We could go to Nora's place again," Thomas suggested. "I wouldn't mind a repeat of what we had today."
And from here the discussion went on without much direction or purpose. And Bjorn quickly became restless, and even tired where he was sitting. He felt like going back to the barracks, and he realized once again that he was a good deal older than his colleagues. They were not likely to return to the checkpoint in a long while yet, and yet Bjorn was already starting to long for bed.
Still feeling a little dizzy and nauseous, Bjorn did not feel like drinking more, and with the conversation around the table not interesting him much either, Bjorn excused himself once again, this time to go and look for Frank. And thinking he might as well get some fresh air while he was up, he found his jacket in the pile under Thomas' balloon, and put it on before leaving his colleagues.
However, Frank was nowhere to be found. He was neither in the roulette room nor outside with the smokers. And looking over at the market, still open and busy over in the village square, Bjorn could not see any sign of Frank there either. But the market looked so attractive with its multitude of paraffin lamps and busy stalls that he crossed the road and entered it anyway.
Bjorn decided to go over to the men's room, both due to a sudden urge to go there, and out of curiosity for the drug dealing. But even as he passed the drug dealers' table, he got no sense that anything very sinister was going on. And on returning to his colleagues' table, he completely forgot about the drug dealers, suddenly being preoccupied by the whereabouts of Frank instead. He hadn't seen Frank in a while, and it struck him as odd that his boss should have completely disappeared, just like that.
"Where is Frank?" Bjorn asked as he sat down with his colleagues again.
"I don't know," Ante answered. "I last saw him in the room with the roulette table. Why don't you go and check, if you're curious?"
Bjorn did not feel like getting up right away, so he remained seated, listening in on his colleagues making plans for next Friday instead, which was what the conversation had moved onto while Bjorn had been away. Both Espen and Thomas were insisting on including bowling as a part of their program, recounting a favourable review by Ola and Per who had started their evening at the newly opened alley.
"We can go bowling before dinner, just like Ola and Per did," Espen suggested. "But where should we go for dinner?"
"I don't know," Ante commented thoughtfully. "There's only Nora's place and Peppe's Pizza. I don't think there's any other place to go... Unless they serve food at the bowling alley. Maybe we could eat there?"
"We could go to Nora's place again," Thomas suggested. "I wouldn't mind a repeat of what we had today."
And from here the discussion went on without much direction or purpose. And Bjorn quickly became restless, and even tired where he was sitting. He felt like going back to the barracks, and he realized once again that he was a good deal older than his colleagues. They were not likely to return to the checkpoint in a long while yet, and yet Bjorn was already starting to long for bed.
Still feeling a little dizzy and nauseous, Bjorn did not feel like drinking more, and with the conversation around the table not interesting him much either, Bjorn excused himself once again, this time to go and look for Frank. And thinking he might as well get some fresh air while he was up, he found his jacket in the pile under Thomas' balloon, and put it on before leaving his colleagues.
However, Frank was nowhere to be found. He was neither in the roulette room nor outside with the smokers. And looking over at the market, still open and busy over in the village square, Bjorn could not see any sign of Frank there either. But the market looked so attractive with its multitude of paraffin lamps and busy stalls that he crossed the road and entered it anyway.
Monday, June 9, 2014
76
Bjorn too felt let down by the higher than expected price for the tokens, and ended up buying just 500 MG instead of one G which was his original thought. However, he found Espen's reaction ridiculous. Considering all the things they could buy for the tokens, they were still cheap, all be it less so than the gold price had led them to believe. And the lady behind the counter was right. It was not like they were asking for gold. They were asking for tokens, and the tokens were naturally priced according to what people were willing to pay for them.
But Espen kept going on about how they had all been scammed, and did not calm down before all his colleagues started ignoring him, focusing instead on the changes that had taken place during the week since their last visit. "Even the sun is different today," Thomas remarked as they walked in the direction of the bright red sunset. "It was dark by now last weekend."
"And in a month from now there will be no sunset at all," Ante added with a smile. "I love the midnight sun."
"Never experienced it," Bjorn remarked, glad to have something trivial to talk about.
"It's like the long summer evenings down in Oslo, only better!" Ante continued, still smiling.
The men stopped at the street corner next to the knoll with the parked cars, not so much to look out for traffic, of which there was very little, as for reading a sign on the other side, advertising the opening of a bowling alley in an old warehouse behind the casino.
"Anyone for bowling?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, we should do that one day," Ante answered. "But we're already a little late for our dinner at Nora's place."
"Maybe after dinner?" Thomas suggested.
"No! After dinner is casino time." Frank said resolutely. "We'll just have to note bowling down on our to do list."
The men looked at Frank, finding his resolute intervention amusing.
"And what about Thomas? Shouldn't this be up to him? It is his birthday after all?" Ante asked.
"Never mind," Thomas said, not waiting for an answer from Frank. "I'm fine. We can go to the casino as planned... It's not like I'm a die hard bowling enthusiast or anything."
They all continued down the shore line towards Nora's place which was situated directly across the water from Ane's fish processing plant. The little white church above and to the right of the factory was also clearly visible, flood lighted and literally shining as a pearl against the huge rock behind it.
It was a muddy gravel road they were walking down, full of potholes and with a soft shoulder that at places had slid out and disappeared into the water. However, it was not like the road was completely unfit for driving. In places, it was even wide enough for two cars to pass. And being a road only meant for access to a handful of houses, it was no doubt good enough.
Nora's place turned out to be the third house down the road, and was marked with a square box at the edge of the road, functioning both as a sign and as a lamp. It read "Nora's Place" in large friendly letters painted on the translucent surface of the illuminated box.
The restaurant was, as it turned out, simply the living room of a private house, converted into an open dining area with several tables. The house was, as the church across the water, flanked by a rock, all be it a much smaller one than the one by the church. Still, the boulder was as large as the house itself, and shielded it perfectly from any winds coming from the north.
But none of this came as any big surprise to Bjorn. He was getting used to things being ad hoc and improvised in Lundby, and there was nothing uncomfortable about walking into the private sphere of Nora's house. The front door was set with a large glass pane, with an "open" sign clearly visible. And a little desk with a book containing the appointments for the evening was visible through the window in the door.
Stepping into the hallway a bell signalled their entrance, and almost immediately a young Asian woman appeared, ready to help the men find their table. There was something familiar about her, but Bjorn did not immediately recognize her. Only after hearing her speak a few more words as she lead the men to their table by the window, did he suddenly, in a flash, make the connection. The woman was the same one who had welcomed Geir and him over at Ane's factory a few days earlier, and full of curiosity he immediately asked if she happened to be Nora.
"No, no..." she answered with a smile as the men sat down at their table. "I'm Aung. I help Nora out in the evenings."
"So you are still working for Ane?" Bjorn asked, still curious.
"Oh yeah. That's my day job," she answered. Then, taking another look at Bjorn, she blurted out "ah... I see, you are the one we had over the other day."
"Yeah," Bjorn answered with a smile.
She giggled. "Please excuse me... You really all look the same to me."
And with this the men burst out laughing, and the mood was set for a relaxing dinner.
But Espen kept going on about how they had all been scammed, and did not calm down before all his colleagues started ignoring him, focusing instead on the changes that had taken place during the week since their last visit. "Even the sun is different today," Thomas remarked as they walked in the direction of the bright red sunset. "It was dark by now last weekend."
"And in a month from now there will be no sunset at all," Ante added with a smile. "I love the midnight sun."
"Never experienced it," Bjorn remarked, glad to have something trivial to talk about.
"It's like the long summer evenings down in Oslo, only better!" Ante continued, still smiling.
The men stopped at the street corner next to the knoll with the parked cars, not so much to look out for traffic, of which there was very little, as for reading a sign on the other side, advertising the opening of a bowling alley in an old warehouse behind the casino.
"Anyone for bowling?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, we should do that one day," Ante answered. "But we're already a little late for our dinner at Nora's place."
"Maybe after dinner?" Thomas suggested.
"No! After dinner is casino time." Frank said resolutely. "We'll just have to note bowling down on our to do list."
The men looked at Frank, finding his resolute intervention amusing.
"And what about Thomas? Shouldn't this be up to him? It is his birthday after all?" Ante asked.
"Never mind," Thomas said, not waiting for an answer from Frank. "I'm fine. We can go to the casino as planned... It's not like I'm a die hard bowling enthusiast or anything."
They all continued down the shore line towards Nora's place which was situated directly across the water from Ane's fish processing plant. The little white church above and to the right of the factory was also clearly visible, flood lighted and literally shining as a pearl against the huge rock behind it.
It was a muddy gravel road they were walking down, full of potholes and with a soft shoulder that at places had slid out and disappeared into the water. However, it was not like the road was completely unfit for driving. In places, it was even wide enough for two cars to pass. And being a road only meant for access to a handful of houses, it was no doubt good enough.
Nora's place turned out to be the third house down the road, and was marked with a square box at the edge of the road, functioning both as a sign and as a lamp. It read "Nora's Place" in large friendly letters painted on the translucent surface of the illuminated box.
The restaurant was, as it turned out, simply the living room of a private house, converted into an open dining area with several tables. The house was, as the church across the water, flanked by a rock, all be it a much smaller one than the one by the church. Still, the boulder was as large as the house itself, and shielded it perfectly from any winds coming from the north.
But none of this came as any big surprise to Bjorn. He was getting used to things being ad hoc and improvised in Lundby, and there was nothing uncomfortable about walking into the private sphere of Nora's house. The front door was set with a large glass pane, with an "open" sign clearly visible. And a little desk with a book containing the appointments for the evening was visible through the window in the door.
Stepping into the hallway a bell signalled their entrance, and almost immediately a young Asian woman appeared, ready to help the men find their table. There was something familiar about her, but Bjorn did not immediately recognize her. Only after hearing her speak a few more words as she lead the men to their table by the window, did he suddenly, in a flash, make the connection. The woman was the same one who had welcomed Geir and him over at Ane's factory a few days earlier, and full of curiosity he immediately asked if she happened to be Nora.
"No, no..." she answered with a smile as the men sat down at their table. "I'm Aung. I help Nora out in the evenings."
"So you are still working for Ane?" Bjorn asked, still curious.
"Oh yeah. That's my day job," she answered. Then, taking another look at Bjorn, she blurted out "ah... I see, you are the one we had over the other day."
"Yeah," Bjorn answered with a smile.
She giggled. "Please excuse me... You really all look the same to me."
And with this the men burst out laughing, and the mood was set for a relaxing dinner.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
45
Bjorn turned his attention back to the newspaper, and was busy reading an article on a new bowling alley being built in an old storehouse located close to the casino when the four o´clock news started on TV. Being more interested in what the Gazette could reveal about Lundby and its economy than what the national broadcaster had to say, he kept on reading the article, locking out the background chatter from the TV until Frank suddenly broke his concentration.
"Hey Bjorn! They are talking about us!" Frank said in a loud proud voice.
Bjorn looked up from the newspaper.
"... lack of control and transparency," a male voice said while a map of the Lundby area illustrated how far north and isolated it was. "No one should be forced to move up there."
The map disappeared, and was replaced by a live image of a female interviewer and a middle aged man dressed up as if he was some sort of punk rocker from the eighties. In the background, a small group of protesters were waving banners and holding up signs saying things like "Shut Down the Gulag", "We are All Human" and "Life and Liberty Before Profits".
The protestors were gathered in front of a gated property with several houses with numerous people peering out of windows, and hanging out their own banners in way of protest.
"The new asylum policy is simply inhumane," the punk rocker continued.
"But isn't it too late to do anything about this now?"
"It is never too late to stop this kind of fascism. We need to bring awareness to what's going on, and we will not stop until dignity and justice is restored to those seeking protection by our government."
"But in this particular case, we are talking about people who have had their asylum application rejected. Closing this particular centre and letting them choose whether to go to Lundby or back where they came from is actually giving them more choice, not less."
"The choice they are faced with is between the plague and cholera. It is no choice at all. Most of these people would have been given asylum under the old rules, so we are not only protesting the Lundby project, which is clearly outrageous, but also the change in procedures that our fascist government has put in place."
"But the decision to relocate all asylum seekers to a single centre in the north is hugely popular with most Norwegians. Do you really think you will be able to revert this policy?"
"Yes we do. Most people know deep down that there is something very immoral and wrong with this whole project, and once we manage to expose the true nature of what is going on up in Lundby, I am sure popular opinion will be turned firmly against it."
The interview ended abruptly on this optimistic note, and the anchor woman thanked the interviewer for her contribution without the interviewer having a chance to respond. Up next was a piece on the inauguration of the ex-prime minister as the new head of NATO, followed by some economic news with a piece dedicated to the falling gold price which was seen as proof of an imminent recovery of the world economy.
"Why did they choose Jens as new head of NATO?" Bjorn wondered out loud the moment Frank turned off the TV set.
"Well, he did lead our government for two terms in a row, and he got plenty of political experience," Frank replied.
"But he's not much of a fighter is he?" Bjorn continued. "Whenever there was a conflict he just disappeared for days on end until the dust settled. He was little more than a figure head."
"I liked him," Geir interjected. "He managed to hold the coalition together. You have to give him credit for that."
"Sure, but he was fiercely anti-NATO in his youth. He's a pacifist at heart, don´t you think?"
"People change," Geir replied thoughtfully. "But you're right, he is not exactly a great military leader."
"It is a bit strange," Frank conceded. "Odd choice for a leader of a military organization. Our foreign minister would have been a more natural choice. He is at least actively making military decisions on Libya these days."
"Yeah," Geir said with a big smile. "He's really showing those rag heads who's boss, isn't he?"
"He is pretty much running the whole government if you ask me," Bjorn added in agreement.
The conversation would have continued had it not been for Espen and John appearing in the doorway, wondering if there would be the regular card playing session despite the change in daily routines caused by Bjorn and Geir's visit to Lundby.
"Well, Thomas is still in the glass cage," Frank responded. Then turning to Geir he asked if he could take over for Thomas for an hour or two so that the four card players could get together for their regular session.
"Well, I still have three hours of service to complete for today," Geir replied. "I might as well take that now."
"Hey Bjorn! They are talking about us!" Frank said in a loud proud voice.
Bjorn looked up from the newspaper.
"... lack of control and transparency," a male voice said while a map of the Lundby area illustrated how far north and isolated it was. "No one should be forced to move up there."
The map disappeared, and was replaced by a live image of a female interviewer and a middle aged man dressed up as if he was some sort of punk rocker from the eighties. In the background, a small group of protesters were waving banners and holding up signs saying things like "Shut Down the Gulag", "We are All Human" and "Life and Liberty Before Profits".
The protestors were gathered in front of a gated property with several houses with numerous people peering out of windows, and hanging out their own banners in way of protest.
"The new asylum policy is simply inhumane," the punk rocker continued.
"But isn't it too late to do anything about this now?"
"It is never too late to stop this kind of fascism. We need to bring awareness to what's going on, and we will not stop until dignity and justice is restored to those seeking protection by our government."
"But in this particular case, we are talking about people who have had their asylum application rejected. Closing this particular centre and letting them choose whether to go to Lundby or back where they came from is actually giving them more choice, not less."
"The choice they are faced with is between the plague and cholera. It is no choice at all. Most of these people would have been given asylum under the old rules, so we are not only protesting the Lundby project, which is clearly outrageous, but also the change in procedures that our fascist government has put in place."
"But the decision to relocate all asylum seekers to a single centre in the north is hugely popular with most Norwegians. Do you really think you will be able to revert this policy?"
"Yes we do. Most people know deep down that there is something very immoral and wrong with this whole project, and once we manage to expose the true nature of what is going on up in Lundby, I am sure popular opinion will be turned firmly against it."
The interview ended abruptly on this optimistic note, and the anchor woman thanked the interviewer for her contribution without the interviewer having a chance to respond. Up next was a piece on the inauguration of the ex-prime minister as the new head of NATO, followed by some economic news with a piece dedicated to the falling gold price which was seen as proof of an imminent recovery of the world economy.
"Why did they choose Jens as new head of NATO?" Bjorn wondered out loud the moment Frank turned off the TV set.
"Well, he did lead our government for two terms in a row, and he got plenty of political experience," Frank replied.
"But he's not much of a fighter is he?" Bjorn continued. "Whenever there was a conflict he just disappeared for days on end until the dust settled. He was little more than a figure head."
"I liked him," Geir interjected. "He managed to hold the coalition together. You have to give him credit for that."
"Sure, but he was fiercely anti-NATO in his youth. He's a pacifist at heart, don´t you think?"
"People change," Geir replied thoughtfully. "But you're right, he is not exactly a great military leader."
"It is a bit strange," Frank conceded. "Odd choice for a leader of a military organization. Our foreign minister would have been a more natural choice. He is at least actively making military decisions on Libya these days."
"Yeah," Geir said with a big smile. "He's really showing those rag heads who's boss, isn't he?"
"He is pretty much running the whole government if you ask me," Bjorn added in agreement.
The conversation would have continued had it not been for Espen and John appearing in the doorway, wondering if there would be the regular card playing session despite the change in daily routines caused by Bjorn and Geir's visit to Lundby.
"Well, Thomas is still in the glass cage," Frank responded. Then turning to Geir he asked if he could take over for Thomas for an hour or two so that the four card players could get together for their regular session.
"Well, I still have three hours of service to complete for today," Geir replied. "I might as well take that now."
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