LIFE LESSONS
A Major’s Holiday
Tales From The Norwegian Riviera
From an evening of storytelling on stage at “Speak.Easy” in Long Beach, California
I’m happy to be here to talk about ‘mending fences.’ For tonight, I have a lighthearted tale about an encounter between two people, where one of them is absolutely convinced they’re right… until they’re not.
And this story takes place in an area I’ve spent a lot of my life in, known as the “Norwegian Riviera.” It’s in southern Norway, which is also known as Norway’s Bible Belt.
It’s a place where Bible Revival camps are found up and down the coast as yachts and fancy motor boats sail side by side with working fishing boats.
The camps have been there for as long as I can remember. Long before I was born, long before my parents were born, and their parents too. Before the arrival of the first weekenders from Oslo. Before spending summers in tiny fishing villages off the southern coast of Norway ever became a thing to do. Tucked away from the main roads, they’re usually at the far end of dirt tracks, out of view from the buses, which ferry holiday seekers to the seaside towns.
Late into the evening, you’d hear singing from the camps. Hymns emerging from canvas tents that would travel across the still waters…
