July 25 - The Kids Are On High Street

July was always a birthday month in my family - and what perfect time for birthdays. Norwegian strawberries are in high season, and if you haven't had one, especially one grown in Lensvik, you are missing out. Strawberries form the centerpiece of the Norwegian cake desert bløtkake, a spongecake layered with whipped cream and strawberries - and I happen to be the son of a master bløtkake baker, and today is a great day for her to showcase her mad skills, as my sister, Elin, has her birthday. I could tell you how old she is, but it wouldn't be nice of me to tell you all that she has reached the age that also is the answer to the big question about life, the universe, and everything (too bad the question itself is forgotten).

So I was two when my Elin was born, and I don't think my life ever was the same after. Of course, that is a good thing, as being two only should work for about a year. What I didn't realize at the time was that I in addition to getting a sister got a friend I couldn't imagine life without. Long vacations at Brekken, in the mountains far from civilizations, with no one but our family were absolutely made better by having a little sister to play with. Car drives were the same way - although I eventually locked myself in with my music - but counting how many camping trailers we saw on our trips somehow never got old.

As we grew older, our relationship started changing - and I would argue it changed for the even better. She might not have thought so when she started at the same high school as me and I was the russepresident (senior class president). Her high school career started with pictures of me plastered all over the school saying (S)Torebror ser deg (Store just adds an S to my name and means big in Norwegian - and bror means brother - so it said Big Brother Is Watching). I also used the moniker ToSk about myself, which means fool in Norwegian - and unfortunately for Elin, if we used the same contraction for her, ElSk means love (! - it's the imperative form), and when the yearbook listed that under her picture, I don't think she was too happy. But what else is a big brother to do?

As teenagers, we were pretty different - but since I didn't drink, I was a good choice for a designated driver for her and her friends. She got a safe driver who wouldn't talk too much to our parents about her condition at the point of pick-up. Although there was this one time... But I won't talk about that.

The same year I moved to the United States, my sister moved to Brighton, England. While I didn't return, she did come back to Trondheim a few years later with a big souvenir. She married Will in 2006, and with Lars William and Ole Christian, she has a great family - and a job as a theater nurse (that's the British term - but she works in the orthopedic OR). Distance makes it difficult to stay as in touch as I know both of us want to be, but we've remained close despite this obstacle.

I last saw her when she turned 40, two years ago, when I took Chris with me to Norway for an extended week's vacation. I cannot tell how much it meant for me to get to spend time with her and her family - as well as other family and friends. Can you tell I miss her?

As much as I would love to say that I have influenced her musical tastes (I know there is a sliver of it somewhere), she was always too poppy for my tastes. But as she grew older, she started getting a slightly more evolved palette than the one that really liked Milli Vanilli - and on occasion she has alerted me to some interesting music as well. I believe she was the one who sent me a cd of Norwegian band Madrugada's The Deep End for Christmas in 2005. I had heard about them before, but it really was the song The Kids Are On High Street that sucker punched my gut and opened my ears to how great this band was. Unfortunately, their career was cut short with 2008's eponymous album following the death of guitar player Robert Buraas, but their output is well worth an investment. Happy birthday, Elin!