Letters the 28th

 

Ramla dit igen, i fyllan. Gick ut vid 20 och hittade en tomburk utanför Minimarket. Gick in och bytte ut den mot en ny. Tog vägen via Högnäset, där äldsta sonen och dottern var på plats och pluggade. Målning av ytterväggar och bilproblem. Gick så vidare efter att ha snattrat med Finne+hund om söndagens spelning. På en bänk på Badhusberget tömde jag min tölk. Just innan jag skulle vika av hem slog det mig. Arken skulle kollas för jacka med hörlurar som glömts. Där fanns dom. Och när man ändå var på väg så kanske man skulle kolla Pub Knorring. Där var Pargas och jag tog en IPA2. Han skulle kolla Metallica i Hfrs. Sen gick jag hem och började dricka blå whiskey, lyssna på musik och publicera. 

MAARIANHOMEBREVEN #

Berghäll 2005-05-28

Dear Tim,

Welcome to Hellsinki. It was so nice talking to you on the mobile, all the way to Cornwall. I told you I did not have time to wordpaint my current life in a nutshell. But I will try to update you on what Wandering Tom has been up to since he last had the great pleasure talking to you face-to-face. That must have been in the late 80s when you came to see me and Riitta at Sampsantie 38, Kottby, Hellsingfors.

We moved over the street in the spring of 90 to Pohjolankatu 3 (a former police-station) after doing a Latin-American crusade in Peru and Lima opening up our personal 90´s. I had started to run like Forrest Gump running the Helsinki Marathons in 90-91-92. On 9/7/91 we finally succeeded in giving birth to our little blond angel, Anni Hilma Maria Eckerman. The gem of her dad´s eyes. Always been and still is even after having become a teenager last fall. Anni was her maternal grandma’s name, Hilma; her paternal grandma (my granma Hilma Alice Eckerman, né Andersson, 1888-1975) and Maria for all the Madonnas of this world.

I finally got my MA in May 91. Wrote my thesis on ”Adaptation in Roald Dahl´s Danny the Champion of the World”. Took me 4 yrs, but I made it, finally, after Roald already had passed on in 1989. Worked a lot on global music for YLE in the 90’s while also working hard at promoting children’s literature in Tikkurila Vantaa (locally), TV and Radio (nationally YLE) and internationally as a member of the Finnish section of IBBY. I was also a member of the board, EC, of IBBY. Executive Committee of the International Board on Books for Young People (1996-2000). That unpaid job gave me the opportunity to visit Bologna annually and Holland (96) New Delhi (98) Tokyo (99) and Carthagena de las Indias, Colombia in 2000. After my period of affectionate work for children’s literature I have been mainly trying to concentrate on music. You could say as Edward Kennedy ”Duke” Ellington: ”Music is my mistress”.

Latinwise I have been trying to master my Spanish, spending the winter of 91/92 in Fuengirola, Costa del Sol. Visited Cuba for 5 weeks in the spring of 1997, and again in 2001. I somewhat like Fidel Castro and his beard even if I think he´s been going for faaar tooo looong. As I see and understand it; Power is always hard to let go off.

1998 meant a big change in our lives. They wanted me to become the boss of Mariehamn Library and Culture. Them meaning The Town Council, The Staff at the library, My Mother Maj-Lis (still alive and kicking at 77), and my blonds, Riitta and Anni. So we made the decision to sell our house in Puistola (95-98) and grab the opportunity to make the move and become islanders and smalltowners. To go back to my roots. Anni made the move wonderfully, helped by having a new family member, a chocolate Labrador puppy which I decided to name Ånni after Åland and the Finnish word for Luck (Onni). He makes me feel lucky, he’s my best pal, the second male in the household at Östernäsvägen 17, Lower Eastside / Southside Mariehome, 10 mins by bike to the Library, 200 meters from the beach and with a wonderful view over the Bay of Slemmern.

Maarianhome 2005-05-30
I continued to make programs for Åland Radio/TV. I called my monthly show ”Varma vindar” and played tropical music from Africa, The Carribean, The Americas and Europe. In 2002 there was no need for my services at the local radio anymore and I decided to fully concentrate on my work as Cultural director. Of course it has been hard for me to stay away from my global and international interests and I have annually been arranging Mariehamn Winter Jazz & Blues in February, since 2000. I also try to present exotic culture during Kulturnatten, annually, the second Friday of August. Have had bands and artists from Cuba and Africa, and the USA visiting the island and they have been well recieved. My family has also travelled quite widely visiting Lanzarote, The Gambia, Cuba and Goa in India.

On February 18, 2004 I turned 50. We had planned to go and celebrate the anniversary in The Gambia, a state which co-incidently celebrates its independence the very same day. On Friday 13th the doctor called, as we were making our travel preparations, and asked my wife to come to the hospital and bring me along. He told us that Riitta had cancer in her womb and that we would have to cancel the cruise to Gambia, Senegal and the Cap Verde Islands. She had to be operated on in Turku and got radiation there for 26 times last spring. In the summer of last year she was supposed to have been well and started to work as a kinder-garden-teacher in September. She did not enjoy the work very much and had started to get pains in her back. The doctors in Åland told her not to worry and to pop painkillers. We decided to make the cancelled cruise after Christmas and left Hellsinki for The Gambia on the very day that the devastating effects of the Asian Tsunami were unravelled. Kristiina Cruises’ ship Kristiina Regina (ex Bore, built in Oskarshamn Sweden 1962) waited for us in the harbour of Banjul and left the following night to Dakar, Senegal and stayed there for two days. On New Years Eve the ship headed for the Cap Verdean islands of Sao Vicente and Praïa.

You will find out more about our adventures in the attached letters to my Senegalese, Finnish-Canadian, Danish-American and Swedish-American friends.

Home 2005-06-01

I am trying to plan for the summer but it is hard to do, not knowing what state Riitta will be in. I plan to bring her along to Helsinki next weekend in order to cheer her up and give me an opportunity to meet you. There will also be jazzfestivals in Hellsinki and Kerava that I would like to check up on.

At Midsummer I will have to stay around in this town of mine so that the pole gets erected properly. After that I have four weeks of vacation. We have some plans to go to Denmark and return via Poland and Via Baltica up to Tallinn and Helsinki. In mid-July we have Alandia Jazz here, which I usually compere. The following week there is a huge party going on in Pori which I would like to join before returning to my job.

Well, that was a bit about this and that I´ve been jotting down since last Saturday. While writing I´ve been listening to:

· This is… Del Shannon, 32 great original hit recordings
· Music from the Motion Picture Masked and Anonymous (Dylan etc.)
· Bob Dylan the bootleg series volume 3
· Pelle Miljoona & Rockers: OK!
· Hasse Walli & Steve Webb: Winners
· Lou Reed: Berlin

In Berlin by the wall
You were five foot ten inches tall
It was very nice
Candlelight and Dubonnet on ice

We were in a small café
You could hear the guitars play
It was very nice
Oh, honey it was paradise

Going off to Övernässtugan (the oldest house in Mariehamn) to open an exhibition of photos by Folke Rostén depecting the early ferry traffic of the 1960’s. History. Heritage.

Please let me know if there is a chance to meet you June 10-12 in Hellsinki.
I attach my Vcard, please use it.

My most honest and kind regards,

Your old pupil

Tom Trick Trane & Tröttskij

80s

Var e mina cigaretter?

Han sover igen och harklar sig? Imorse snöade häggen. Mormor Elvy var här och berättade om förlisningar på Norges västkust 1937. Hennes morsa hade drömmar som tolkade framtiden.
Ilskan och hopplösheten trappar ner mig. Orden har blivit flytande. Dom konstlar till sig. Jag söker konsten, besväras av det konstlade.
Europa översvämmas av vårregnen.
Jag vill kasta TVn genom fönstret men hindras av min eftertänksamhet och rädsla. Jag vill skapa bilder av mitt liv. För att kunna det måste jag greppa livssituationen. Allt är så löst och splittrat.
Jag hör att han gråter där nere. Måste nog ner och    /83