I Learn by Going Where I Have to Go

Written for the Write World competition, January 2008, inspired by the following quote:

I learn by going where I have to go. - Theodore Roethke (American Poet).

I Learn by Going Where I Have to Go

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to this evening's program of Interviews Throughout Time. I'm Wally Windchill and I'll be your host this evening.

"Through the magic of radio and time travel we're presenting for your enjoyment an interview with none other than Leif Eriksson, reported to have discovered North America in the year 1000, predating Christopher Columbus by nearly 500 years.

"We'll be traveling to the year 1015 and visiting Leif at his farm called Ericholm, in Brattahlid, Greenland. My first impression is that Leif is a large, bearded man. He has bright blue eyes that twinkle when he smiles. His blond hair is long and straggly and he is wearing a leather tunic. His boots are also made of leather as are the thongs that wrap his leggings. As we arrive, Leif is standing at the door of his turf-covered cottage and offers a massive hand as a sign of friendship."

"That's quite a grip you have, Leif."

"Ya, Volly, swinging a broadsword all day in battle vill do vonders for strengtening da hands.

"Velkomin! Have a seat in my humble abode and join me for a glass of Brennivin."

"Thanks Leif, but Brennivin, isn't that the drink they call Black Death?"

"Ya, Volly, some call it dat, it packs quite a vallop. It's like schnapps made from potatoes and flavored with caraway. Sometimes ve drink it just to cover the taste of the Hákarl. Are you familiar with Hákarl? It's rotten shark that has been preserved in its own juices, including urine. Ve bury it in gravel for six to tvelve veeks, depending on the season, and den hang it in a drying shack for two to four monts. It's a delicacy dat's served during the Icelandic midwinter festival, Þorrablót . Ve also serve Svid, dat's burned and boiled sheep's head and Hrutspungar, sour ram's testicles.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Lief. I think I'll pass on the food and drink.

"I notice above your mantle, beside that large broadsword and round shield, you have a wooden cross. Does that mean you are a Christian?"

"Are you familiar with the phrase, "any port in a storm?" I became friends with King Olaf of Norway. Ve played chess togedder. He had converted to Christianity and was convinced that it had ended a plague that had svept Norway. I was baptized der and brought a priest back with me to spread da Christian message in Iceland and Greenland. At my mothers insistence I built Tjodhilde church, named after her, in Brattahlíð.

"Dat doesn't mean that I have rejected da old religion completely. Der is still room for da old gods, gnomes, trolls, light-fairies, lovelings and a unique species called huldufolk, or hidden people who have alvays played a significant part in our heritage. In fact, many people still believe dat der are all sorts of beings who live beneath da stones. Roads are diverted around certain rocks for fear of offending an elf."

"Leif, I understand that you come from a family of explorers. Tell us about that."

"Our family motto could have been I believe dat I learn by going ver I have to go, for vatever reason and dose reasons varied considerably. Christianity claims dat man has free will, but a man's hand can be forced by all manner of circumstances. Our exploring, as you call it, has often been directed by fate, by da hands of da gods, by temperament, by necessity and sometimes by choice. One goes out in the Vorld and reacts to what is trown ones way; it may be fortune or misfortune depending upon one's reactions. If one is wise he learns; if foolish he repeats his mistakes.

"My great great grandfodder was called Naddoddr. He and his crew became lost while sailing from Norway to da Faroe Islands sometime around the year 850. Dey accidentally discovered an unexplored land far to da nortvest. Dey vent ashore and saw no sign of inhabitants. Since it vas snowing at da time he called it Snowland. Da island later became known as Iceland.

"My grandfodder vas Thorvald Asvaldsson. He lived in Norway during the reign of King Harold Fairhair. Thorvald vas expelled in 960 for a number of killings. Dese tings happen sometimes. Since he had family in Iceland dat vas ver he decided to emigrate.

"His son, my fodder, was Erik Thorvaldsson. In Iceland da surname of the son comes from da given name of da fodder."

"Leif, your father was nicknamed Erik the Red. Is that correct?"

"Ya, dat's right, Volly. He vas called dat because of his red hair and beard and because of his fiery temper. It vas his temper that caused us to leave Iceland.

"How so, Leif?"

"Tings vere going vell for us until I was about tirteen years old. It was in the spring of 982 when my fodder and I attended the , the lawmaking body of the Vikings. It is located at Thingvellir. Der I learned dat Brennivin and politics just don't mix. Dad got into a fight and a couple of other men got killed. As they say, like fodder, like son. The Thing Council banished my fodder from Iceland for three years. That's ven ve packed our large vooden ship, called a knorr, which had a large square sail on a central mast, and sailed here to Greenland; aldough it vasn't called dat until later.

"So, tell our audience what happened next, Leif?"

"After my fodder's banishment vas over ve returned to Breidafjord, Iceland. Tings didn't go too vell after our return because my fodder had made a lot of enemies. Killing people will do that. My fodder decided on a career in real estate. He called his settlement Greenland (even dough it was covered with ice) to make it sound nicer than it was. He also talked about the bountiful riches of reindeer, seal and valrus. Dose ver good real estate selling points at da time.

"In 985 he signed up four or five hundred settlers with their livestock and other vorldly goods in tow and arranged for tventy-five ships. It was a disastrous voyage with towvering vaves and strong vinds battering da small knorrs. Some of da ships turned back, odders ver lost at sea. Only fourteen ships and about three hundred and fifty colonists arrived safely. The survivors settled here in Brattahlid, da Eastern Settlement and at Godthab, da Vestern Settlement.

"Your name, Volly Vindchill. That doesn't seem to follow any naming convention I'm aware of. How did you come by that name?"

"I know it doesn't seem appropriate in the present context, Leif, my usual gig is to forecast the weather; but enough about me. Do tell me more about your family."

"You can actually forecast da veather? Dat's amazing! You could do vell around here, especially considering the circumstances of my fodder and great great grandfodder. Dey vould have known to stay in port and out of harm's way."

"Leif, you were speaking of the settlements..."

"Ya, da settlements prospered; but vit my fodder as head of the community I could see no real chance for advancement. One night, over a few too many glasses of Brennivin, my friend Bjarni Herjolfsson mentioned to me that he had a knorr dat he vas villing to sell for a good price. He also talked of a magical land far to the sout-vest which he had seen but had never visited. Some sailors at the bar joined in da conversation and before I knew it ve had a crew of thirty-four.

"Ve followed Bjarni's directions, steering da ship by the sun during the day and the stars at night. Da first land ve saw vas covered vit flat stones. Ve called that Hellaland. After a few more days sailing soutvest ve spotted land again. Because of the vooded shoreline ve called dat Markland. So far, der vasn't anything dat really put any vind in my sails, if you know what I mean. Ve continued sout den we tought ve had hit the jackpot!

"Ve sailed trough a channel, past a cape and into a bay of shallow votter. Ve vent ashore and found streams filled with salmon. Der ver large spruce trees that vould provide timber for our boats and homes and der ver grasses to feed livestock. Ve even found vines vit grapes on dem. From a real estate point of view I tought ve had a bonanza. Ve called this Vinland, or as you would say, Wineland. Ve vintered there and in da spring ve filled da ship vit da riches of dis new land den sailed back to our homes and families in Greenland.

"Like my fodder before me I tried my hand at real estate. Vinland sparked some interest for a few years den da novelty vore off. Settlers missed friends and family dat dey had left behind. Odders missed the volcanoes and lava fields of Iceland. Some complained about the neighbors, who dey called skraelings, or natives, who threw loud parties, with drumming, dancing and high pitched yelling which in turn lead to fights. The heart of the problem vas dat dis land ve discovered vas in the middle of nover and, as I learned from my fodder, the tree keys to selling real estate are location, location, location. After paying off my crew in lumber, hides, pelts and dried fish, and after number crunching with my accountant, I found dat I vas in da hole. So, my first settlement attempt vas a failure. My friends still tease me about Leif's Folly. For a long time after dat I felt dumber than dirt.

"My fodder, Erik passed away about ten years ago. Ve gave him a fiery send off accompanied by all the goods and veapons dat vould be useful to him in the afterlife. I've since taken over his duties as community leader here at Brattahlid and also da development of new communities. Vit turf-covered cottage building at an all time high in Greenland ve now have a thriving business that, eventually, I expect to pass on to my son Thorkell. So, what began as folly has, I'm pleased to say, paid big dividends in the end. I am now known as Leif the Lucky."

"Leif, you may be interested to learn that the land you called Vinland is now called Newfoundland, a province of Canada. It may not have seemed so at the time, but you, Leif Eriksson, started one of the biggest real estate booms in world history.

"There you have it folks, straight from Leif the Lucky Eriksson, a man who went where he had to go, and aren't we glad he did?"

"For the three-day weather forecast, on Wednesday: North wind 3 to 8 kilometers per hour, stronger in the easter most part. Cloudy and mainly dry in the north and east, otherwise widely fair, but risk of afternoon showers in the south. Temperature widely 8 to 15 degrees centigrade, but cooler in the north and by the east coast. On Thursday and Friday: an explosive eruptive phase will begin at the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southern Iceland. Light easterly or variable wind. Widely fair weather, but risk of ash clouds by the sea, especially in the east."

"Volcanic eruption, again! Dat's vy ve call dose Icelanders da neighbors from hell! Der goes da neighborhood! By da veekend ve'll be covered in ash and they will get all the attention and da tourists. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed in the morning. I think I'll let Thorkell handle dis von."

"That's a tough situation Leif. Tune in again next time for your regularly scheduled broadcast of Interviews Throughout Time. This is your host, Wally Windchill, signing off until next time."

(Word count: 2020.)

LEAD GRAPH: Ya, I tink you've gut this von down patsy, Dennis. Gut ole Volly, I've listened to his program vor manny vears now on the vireless.