all alone again

so, once again, i'm the only one posting here. but i shall soldier on...and hope you're all still reading.

i was flying into oslo on tuesday evening. very late tuesday evening (tho' it wasn't planned that way...thank GOD for the GOLD LOUNGE at Kastrup!!)

the pilot mentioned something about kristiansand soon after takeoff. and it reminded me of a story. that although it's not technically a nachtigal story, it's a story from my dear danish husband, jens-peter, who, after ten years with me has at least earned honorary nachtigal-hood.

a number of years ago when he was still in the danish army, he went to a "PFP" exercise (that's some kind of partnership for peace-thingie) in kristiansand. which is in norway. it seems that the italians were among those invited (being in favor of peace and all, as well as having a penchant for crooked, mafia-run governments).

it seems that in sweden there is a place called kristianstad. that looks quite a lot like kristiansand, if your english isn't so good. so, imagine the surprise of the swedes when a whole bunch of italians parachuted into kristianstad and said, "we're here!" now, bear in mind, the swedes have prided themselves on their neutrality in recent decades (including WWII and the Cold War). so, to have a bunch of italians parachuting in was, to say the least, a tad alarming.

but, the italians' shoes were immaculate. and they were a little late for the exercise in norway.

those scandinavians. they all look alike...