Ten years ago – my Country Music Anniversary

It’s a bit after nine o’clock in the evening. Skype is running. The call with a very close American friend of mine is on. And on the webcam, I see the shocked look on his face.

I go back a few minutes to sum up what we’ve just talked about. It’s music.

“Do you know any country music?”

That’s what he’s just asked, as we have been chatting about music in general, and the question’s made me go thoughtful.

As an answer, I have slightly shaken my head and said, “Well, I know somehow Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash but… not really, not that I could say.”

He is not a fan of country music, as he says, but he’s still so shocked for my reply that he makes an effort and sends me a link of a song. He asks me to listen to it. He says it would give me a good impression of country music because the singer is good; his music is country, he has a good classic-type of country voice, and his shows always rock “in a country way”.

“Alrighty then,” I think and open the link, because I’m always open to give a try to anything new.

A song starts playing. I ask him to wait for a moment. Then I focus on listening.

The beat is interesting. I realize the music is not what I exactly expected.

And then comes the singing.

First I just listen to the music in general. But suddenly I pay attention to the fact that the singer sounds a bit different… it’s not the kind of English I’m used to hearing. But his voice is very pleasant. It’s enjoyable to listen to.

I look at the title of the clip more closely: Garth Brooks – The Night I Called The Old Man Out.

“So, this is country music,” I think and a smile passes on to my face.

“So?,” my friend asks when the song has ended.

But I don’t comment. Instead, as a language lover, I approach the thing from that aspect.

“I wonder… why does he drawl the words?”

My friend bursts into laughter. Then he says it’s part of the game in the south to do that.

I go a bit confused because I don’t understand his reaction and I’m confused what’s so funny that it’s making him laugh.

But we don’t get stuck to it, and the chat goes on.

Then years ago, my life came to a turn. I found country music. I fell in love with it. And ever since, it’s played a big role in my life.

But it’s not just country music. I find the culture and lifestyle they lead in the southern US fascinating; the southern and western stuff and everything from the accents to the attitudes.

When I learned the meaning of “to cowboy up” I realized it’s very close to the Finnish “sisu” meaning guts. In many country songs, it’s said that when you get thrown down (from the saddle) you’ve got to cowboy up. That’s exactly what my attitude in general is like.

Any type of country music is good, even if I have to honestly admit that I’m less fond of today’s country that is mostly pop or rock and the artists and their fans just call it country. But I have my top favorites. I call Garth Brooks my Country Music First Love because his music opened the door to the world of country music to me. The others belonging to the top group are Chris LeDoux, Lonestar, and Justin Moore.

Every time I hear country music anywhere or I listen to it I feel awesome! It’s a way to put a smile on my face. Even if I was feeling blue, if I heard some country it’d chase the blueness away.

So, I am celebrating today. But I’m celebrating alone because it’s more or less “my thing”. Country music is not popular or well known in Finland. Basically, people know Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson. But, for example, I’ve asked my friends if they know who George Strait and Alan Jackson are. They don’t.

I have two dreams I’ll go for when I have a chance. I’ve been in the US once, in Florida. I am going to have a vacation in one of the southern states; Texas most probably. And I am going to see a country music concert live; if it was Garth’s concert I’d be in heaven!

For dinner, I’m cooking Nashville Hot Chicken with white bread, pickle chips, and goat cheese dip. And needless to say, country music is playing in the background. That’s the name of the game on the 10^th Country Music Anniversary.

Related entry: Tipatius' Blog - The Five Meaningful Songs

"Right now, I’m here. In a bit, I’ll be gone."

Life is so unexpected. I dedicate this post to my mother who lost something really precious yesterday. Her dear cat, Charles, was put to sleep, being hardly five years old.

Charles was a cat with a personality. But which pet would not have one? He was quite obstinate and he sometimes showed up like he had disliked me. But after all, I was the “bad buddy” who always brushed his fur, cut his claws, wormed him, and did such things. So, of course he had learned that I was the one who deserved some hissing and showing claws.

Charles and my mother were like a mother and a child. They had their way together. They had their common traditions every morning, day, and evening, just like I have with my cats. Garfield and Kenneth are as dear to me as Charles was to mom. They are like my kids. They are just so dear and the paw marks of these little creatures will always remain in our hearts.

Things were still running normally on Friday morning. My mother and I have a nice tradition of going to the café close to where we live in some mornings before work. From there, we take the buses to work. When mom went home in the afternoon she discovered that Charles had not peed. And because he still hadn’t in Saturday morning she took him to see the vet.

It turned out that Charles had quite a bit of kidney stones. He was set to a 24-hour-long intensive care but mom was allowed to bring him home. Fortunately, we say now, as he got to spend his last moments at home.

Mom took him back to the vet yesterday morning to check the kidneys. The vet said they had injured so badly that it’d not be certain if they could be healed – ever. Mom told me after getting home that already on Saturday she had started getting mentally ready for the worst – to put the poor cat to sleep. And when she had told the vet yesterday that she was ready for it the vet had said that it’d probably be wise because no one could guarantee if the kidneys could be healed or if they would heal. And at least in that way the Charles wouldn’t suffer for any longer.

Of course, mom could have taken the chance to try if the possible care would have helped. But at the end of the day, it’d have been even worse if it hadn’t and then Charles had put to sleep after suffering and being in pain for a week or two. It simply wouldn’t have been humane. And it’d have been too hard for both of mom and C.

My mother and I had a nice way of calling our cats as “cousins”. Garfield and Kenneth were Charles’ cousins and vise versa. G and K are “bros”. Especially Kenneth and Charles were really good buddies. They were very fond of each other. I’m already feeling sorry for K probably looking for C when I next time take the cats to mom’s place. I have explained them that their fellow cousin is not there anymore. But one day they’ll see it in practice.

Losing a dear one is always so hard. But it’s part of life even if it feels cruel. Charles was too young to go. But at least he had a very good and happy life. No one could have given him a better home and life than my mother.

The magic of the forest

The well known fact is that Finland goes through the period of darkness every year from the middle of October to the end of year. The closer the winter solstice gets the shorter the days are and the more there’s gloom. By the time, it gets somehow light around 9 a.m. and back pitch-dark between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., depending if the sun is trying to shine or if it’s simply too cloudy.

I’ve been often asked by foreign people not living in Finland or having visited Finland during the end of the year how I can manage with the period of darkness. Well, I’m Finnish, so I guess I’m used to it. But on the other hand, every time fall has already been going for a while I start thinking that the dark period is coming. And I would lie if I said the thought didn’t feel nasty.

But even then, being unbelievable or not, there are ways to make it better. I took the photo just yesterday when I went for a walk to the forest. It was foggy and it was drizzling. It doesn’t look so tempting, does it? Actually, I would say it does in a way. Somehow the fog and the silence of the forest feel mysterious. And I have to say it feels quite amazing.

Going for walks has always been a way for me to relax – one of the ways that really relax me. When I stopped to take the photo and I had done it I looked around and I realized how peaceful it really is out there. There was no one about. I could just hear the sound of nature.

An amazing thing is that I live in Helsinki – the capital of Finland – but even then I live in a suburb that is surrounded by nature. There’s a big river passing the building where I live in. There’s a lot of forest and a whole bunch of beautiful routes where I can go for walks. Sometimes I’ve been thinking that part of me would be happier to live out in the country because there’d be more nature there and more peace and quiet than what you can get in the city. But when I’m looking at the area I live in I’m very comfortable here.

The place becomes a true winter wonderland when there’s snow on the ground and it lands on the branches of the trees that have dropped the leaves. Of course, the place is beautiful at any part of the year – even at the end of the fall when it’s dark and gloomy.

I’m not a doctor but I have common sense

On the 2^nd of June, I posted an entry Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place. And it seems that every time these days when I visit my eye doctor or the visit is getting closer I end up to such a situation – being stuck between a rock and a hard place. This time, I feel in that way already before the actual visit, thanks to the phone call I got from the hospital unit this morning.

I was supposed to have an appointment with my eye doctor on Friday afternoon. But I got a call that he wouldn’t be there. I said I could very well come next week. But the secretary said the next time he’s there is on Monday the 29^th of this month.

As I had the last appointment on the 2^nd of June, by the time I was told I’d be sent the time of the next appointment by mail. That time, it was a random doctor who just did a regular check to me. And so it happened. I asked the secretary if it should be the cornea specialist himself whom I should meet – if he was so engaged another doctor might be fine too, as it’d be a regular check after all.

She said that the cornea specialist had wanted the appointment to be booked to him because it’d be time to plan the new cornea transfer. So, I should visit him and no other doctor.

“Excuse me?!,” I exclaimed on the phone.

As there have been a few issues with the current cornea, as I’ve posted earlier, the doctors have flashed an option of a new transfer a few times. The eye is calm and the sight is clear most of the time, but there’s a little bit of swelling in the cornea which is why a new transfer is one of the options according to the doctors. But because the issues aren’t really big or extremely serious I don’t have an urgent need to have a new transfer done.

To top it all, the specialist who wants to see me in one and a half weeks has told me personally just within the past half a year that because the eye has been operated for so many times during my life it might not put up with the healing process of another transfer, it being for 12 months after all. And now he’s willing to plan a new transfer anyway!

I don’t know which word would describe my mood the best at the moment. But I do feel frustrated. It is, of course, wonderful that I’m in such good hands and the doctors want to take care of me. But the whole situation is a true dead end.

If it’s 50% or even less that the eye would carry through the 12-month-long healing process without bringing up swelling or other issues to the cornea transplant and if the doctors have clearly told me that, my sense just doesn’t get it why they would like to go for a new transfer anyway especially when there isn’t an urgent need.

But the whole situation has two sides. My common sense says that a new transfer might just be another one-year-long project that might fail with the probability of 50%. I base it on what I’ve been told for many times. But after all, I’m not a doctor. I’m not professional in medicine. So, why I’m struggling so deep is that I’m stuck between my own common sense and the professional opinions and viewpoints of the doctors. And it puts me on a hell of a spot for sure.

So, now I have one and a half weeks to stop to think about the whole thing. I have time to prepare myself what I should ask of the doctor in the appointment on the 29^th. One thing is for sure though; I won’t let him off lightly when it comes to justifying why it’d be wise to go for a new transfer or what it perhaps might cause in a long term if it wasn’t done.