Monday, March 16, 2009

Here's One for Kurt

03/16/2009

I miss Kurt tremendously and his loss makes me sad.  But one thing I’ll always remember and be thankful for about Kurt was his great sense of humor.  He could find humor in the silliest circumstances or even with the most serious of things.  His favorite jokes involved a play on words or some type of “pun”.  And he sure did have a great laugh.

So in remembrance of Kurt on this solemn anniversary and with appreciation of his humor and Norwegian heritage, here is a silly joke he would have loved.

I Love you Bro,
Greg

WHY ST. PATRICK’S DAY IS CELEBRATED EACH YEAR IN AMERICA

The real reason the Irish celebrate St.  Patrick’s Day is because this is when St. Patrick drove the Norwegians out of Ireland.

It seems that some centuries ago, many Norwegians came to Ireland to escape the bitterness of the Norwegian winter. Ireland was having a famine at the time, and food was scarce.  The Norwegians were eating almost all the fish caught in the area, leaving the Irish with nothing to eat but potatoes. St. Patrick, taking matters into his own hands, as most Irishmen do, decided the Norwegians had to go. Secretly, he organized the Irish IRATRION (Irish Republican Army to Rid Ireland of Norwegians). Irish members of IRATRION passed a law in Ireland that
prohibited merchants from selling ice boxes or ice to the Norwegians, in hopes that their fish would spoil. This would force the Norwegians to flee to a colder climate where their fish would keep.

Well, the fish spoiled, all right, but the Norwegians, as every one knows today, thrive on spoiled fish.  So, faced with failure, the desperate Irishmen sneaked into the Norwegian fish storage caves in the dead of night and sprinkled the rotten fish with lye, hoping to poison the Norwegian invaders.

But, as everyone knows, the Norwegians thought this only added to the flavor of the fish, and they liked it so much they decided to call it “lutefisk”, which is Norwegian for “luscious fish”.

Matters became even worse for the Irishmen when the Norwegians started taking over the Irish potato crop and making something called “lefse”. Poor St. Patrick was at his wit’s end, and finally on March 17th, he blew his top and told all the Norwegians to “GO TO HELL”.

So they all got in their boats and emigrated to Minnesota or Wisconsin ---- the only other paradise on earth where smelly fish, old potatoes and plenty of cold weather can be found in abundance.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Remembering Kurt

03/14/2009

This Monday will be the four year since Kurt’s tragic accident. I think of him every day but especially on the 16th of March. I will never pretend to understand why this happened and will never stop missing him, but throughout it all I (and hopefully the readers of Kurt’s memorial website) will not lose hope for good things to happen. When bad things happen it is really important not to let them tarnish or taint one’s perspective on life. Kurt, I know, would have wanted us to keep our faith, trust God, and look forward with optimism.

As always, I bring tulips and spring flowers to his grave on this day. I find myself reminiscing looking at pictures, reading post-cards & letters he sent, touching all the things he had brought back from far-away places, and of course every time I go to his memorial web-site.

This is my first entry to the website. I wanted to renew it in order to renew memories about Kurt:

Kurt was my confidante, ally, friend, brother and wonderful Uncle to my two sons.  He was that and more, touching more lives than I will ever know. He made all people feel welcome in his life. Even if he wasn’t my brother, I truly believe the world is a better place because of him and the “gifts” he shared. He was gentle, understanding and very easy to talk to. His vast knowledge and intelligence always gave his advice credibility. His humor made you want to come back for more. His stories, however fantastic, were true. He had the integrity of a saint and loyalty some would never find in their lifetime. He helped me through some difficult times, I could always trust Kurt and felt I could tell him anything and it wouldn’t go any further. I miss him. I love him…..
He was our Indiana Jones. He loved adventure and adventure loved him. From traveling the world to trying new “dishes”, Kurt lived life to the fullest.

Many of us envy this lifestyle because we too want a full life with all the extras, yet we are too cautious. It takes courage to know what you want and go after it.  He knew what he wanted and persevered to get it. Goal driven, yet patient. He could get depressed, yet seemed to always muster up the courage to go on and finish what he started.

I am blessed with several painting he painted too. He and I shared a love for art. For my birthday one year he painted a beautiful seascape which I will treasure forever. He had the amassing ability to be artistic, yet have an engineering/computer science career. Time and time again, I witnessed his competence using these opposite perspectives/skills.

Spencer and Preston had a special relationship with him too. They adored him and always lit up when he called or came for a visit. He would send them postcards from around the world with interesting stories as well as toys unique to the countries he toured. Uncle Kurt would tuck them in at bedtime when he visited us and talk for hours about his experiences or just tell the boys stories he made up. They will miss those stories and the stories he could have told them. His tenderness with children and animals only hinted at his true nature. He was a wonderful role model to our boys and may his teachings and love live in their minds forever.  I only wish his other nephews could have known him too. But he would always ask about Derek and Geoffrey and I know Uncle Kurt loved them. 

God Bless you Kurt…..you are and will be missed terribly. 
Love Always, Your Sister Lucy