der mann ohne eigenschaften

As you know I’m not an actor, I have merely been in one amateurish movie and will possibly be on stage next year. It’s a show that takes place in a simulated world. Today I in a weird way was reminded of my grandpas acting career. I was surfing wikipedia and came to the Swedish page for “Exploitation film”. It mentioned Thriller en grym film/Thriller a cruel picture - a movie it’s not possible to mention without claiming it was one inspiration for Kill Bill, that’s an obligatory claim. I have not seen that 1970s “rape and revange” movie, but it stars Christina Lindberg. She also had a role in a historical movie a reviewer on IMBD called: “Greatest trainwreck in swedish movie history”. My grandpa had a role as an extra in that movie.

Ok my grandpa was a farmer, the reason he had a role as an extra was because that movie was filmed near his farm and they took extras from the home guard. Still, why not say that my grandpa acted with the actress from a cult movie and I therefore come from an actor family - just like the Skarsgårds. Thinking about that, our last name also ends with “gård”. Coincidence?


Then writing about my family. I have heard my four year old niece sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider" in both Swedish and Finnish. She picked up those lyrics in her old kindergarten. That reminded me that she and her sister are 50% Finnish, who won’t speak Finnish. Well, they are not the only example of that. It’s possible that it was on livejournal I first read about Latinos in the US who don’t speak Spanish, just English. (I have no idea how common it is, just that it’s not unheard of.) I also think I have heard that if the mom in a “mixed ethnicity” family speaks a minority language, the kids will be bilingual. If it’s the dad that speaks the minority language, the children are less likely to be bilingual. Intresting.

So both my sisters and their family have been in town. My old BiL asked if I wanted to follow him on a hunting trip. Sit in a hunting tower and wait for an animal for him to shot. At least I think that’s how hunting work. My younger BiL told me I should say yes, but he also said it’s boring. Mixed messages? Perhaps it is like this, there he comes from, at least if you're a man, the rule is always follow with on hunting trips if you're asked. (There he's from is Tornedalen, the border between Sweden and Finland.) Lets see how I do.
Now, I have been spending more time in the forests than I have done in a long time. Mostly with my sisters and their families. Almost noteworthy, last time sister B was looking for mushrooms while older BiL shoot in his rifle. Hunting and gathering.

I also happened to read this: Why forests and rivers are the most potent health tonic around. The writer write some anecdotes of miraculous health improvement under hiking trips. THe article argue that both somatic and psychological it’s great to be outdoors. Now, as a kid I was a lot in nature. Still life wasn’t that easy. Was that because our forests wasn’t good enough, or was that because I was bullied and had an undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder? Probably the second one right? I’m not saying that nature don’t have healing powers, or that’s not important to visit nature. Hey I’m Swedish, they sometimes says that we worship nature. That when people in other cultures have a life changing experience like getting a cancer diagnosis, they goes to a churts, a mosque, a temple... while Swedes goes out in nature. All I’m saying is, don't’ oversell the health effects of hiking. People could have problems not solved by hiking.

The article actually made me look back and wonder: “was my autism the same during those years then we there visiting the forest like every weekend? Or is it something I got the years I stayed indoors all weekend?” Well, back then I had a very autistic special interest in environmental issues. Making me think I could have some “connection” to Greta Thunberg, she has the same diagnose and I too was worried about the environment already as a kid. And here I can write that sister B said she won't eat any meat except for game meat. Partly inspired by Greta. Then she, B not Greta, bought some expensive souvas burger. Souvas, being smoked reindeer surprisingly taste similar to bacon and is climate friendly. Reindeers eat lichen and turn it into meat.

And that’s right, since I mentioned Tornedalen. In a novel that take place in Tornedalen one guy cure his hangover by running over a swamp, holding weight in his hands. Swamps are definitely found in nature. So, that’s the healing power of nature.