FARMOR OG FARFAR

K A R I N    ⎮    B J A R N E

This little piece is for my grandparents,

Karin and Bjarne.

They got married in 1949. 

I remember the story of the two of them

being recently an official couple and my

grandfather studied abroad in Newcastle and

my grandmother received numerous letters in

the mail from my grandfather, and at one

point the mail man said:

"I think he must be in love!"

to my grandmother. It's a little bit clichè,

but it's something so sweet about it.

She always tells the story with such 

enthusiasm and a little touch of humour 

even though she's 88. She's my proof that 

age is just a number, age might give you a few

practical restrictions, but if you're young

at heart, no one can say anything against

that your philosophy of life is wrong.

I just saw a documentary about the pianist

Alice Herz Sommer, a 109 year old woman

who was the oldest pianist and holocaust 

survivor until her death in early 2014.
In the midst of the german invasion in

Prague, she was asked to play, and she

played concerts which seemed to take

everyone even the german officers away

from the harsh reality. There were even

guards listening from the outside through

the window. It is a beautiful reminder

of what music can do and how 

significant it really is.

But the point of mentioning Alice is her 

appreciation, spark and outlook on life. 

Through music which she says brings 

her to another world, she has learned 

to see the beauty about life. 

People always see disadvantages about

getting old, but I believe that as long as

your mind is intact and clear, you have the

time of your life to immerse yourself

with the things you love, and just stay in

it, be it, create your own sense of reality in it.

And you can't be selfish about it, cause

you're old. 

But she mentioned that you have to get this 

old to realize life's beauty. It's a interesting 

statement, but I think that depends 

more on the individual. I suppose I would 

have to get old first to answer that, as I'm 

looking at my life in retrospective.

I myself have not experienced that kind 

of love my grandparents have yet, but 

if I do I would be forever grateful.

I do believe there's something special,

something more to love, like it surpasses

reality, I think the bonds we create

is not for granted even though in the end

we die alone, and we are sepparated. 

I think love goes beyond the dimensions of 

reality, and it's something worth living for

I believe. Just like the music,

the passion, for Alice Sommer, it's her

own sense of something otherworldly, 

something holy.

All pictures taken by Isabel H.R