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29.12.2006

GRENSAS REVISITED

l
Once in my school-years in Kenno (Teachers' Training College) my parents travelled to Greece in their vacation. There they met and became acquainted with an Icelandic couple from Selfoss.

As time went by it became apparent that these new friends had more in common than just the nationality.

Conversing they discovered that both owned sons that were victims of car-accidents and both of them had had similar injuries.

These new acquaintances said that they were very worried about their son's wellfare because he was still paralized in a wheel-chair, but primarily because he seemed to have lost his will to get better.

He refused to take part in any rehabilitation at Grensas where he was at the moment.

Shortly after they'd returned home my mother told me about this unfortunate lad on Grensas where I used to be myself.

The only difference was that he did not take part in any rehabilitation and seemed to lack the kind of motivation my mother used to give me in my time.

Nothing seemed to help this boy.

When I' d returned to my studies in Reykjavik from Keflavik where I had been working in my summer vacation the young man from Selfoss and his problem interrupted my thoughts again and again.

I asked myself whether I could give him the motivation he apparantly needed, and thus doing something to repay the debt I had with my fellow citizens.

I used buses pretty much when I had to travel inside the city limits.

When the weather was pleasant I used my two equally long legs as often as I could or had the time.

Then I took bus no. 6 to school which is located in Stakkshlid first thing in the morning, but after school I walked the same road towards my home in Skogargerdi which is in the east side of Reykjavik.

One day at the end of a schoolday, when I headed homewards strolling I decided to bend my route towards my former rehabilitation-station for a short visit, even though I'd made a solemn oath never to enter that place again.

The weather was at its best that day in the middle of autumn, when I decided to go to Grensas so that I could try and give the paralized boy from Selfoss a rouse to action; a little push.

Mixed memories came to mind, when I reentered the re-nowned rehabilitation-station where so many people had regained their health over the years.

I recognized almost every face on my way through the corridors and the greetings went from them to me and vice versa.

The sentences:

-How wonderful to see you, and, the progress you've made since you left us is quite incredible, I heard a number of times and through me went a feeling of pleasure.

I was also asked what I was doing or working these days. Usually they couldn't conceal their astonishment, when I revealed that I was in my last year at the Teachers' College and that I aimed to become an elementary teacher.

When I'd satisfied the curiosity of this friendly staff I got to asking them where the paralized boy from Selfoss was to be found, and then I was showed to his room.

ll

He was in a double room with an amazing man who astonished me with his talents.

The room-mate was namely totally blind.

Despite his handicap he was a very good musician, a keyboard- and guitar-player and played and sang his own songs.

One wasn't able to notice that his enormous handicap, as I reckon blindness must be, retarded him in any way;

automatically Stevie Wonder, the great American musician's name came to mind, when he held the one man concert for Steini and me, as we sat together and listened with admiration to his amusing songs.

When I'd introduced myself I told Steini that I had been in similar shoes as he a few years earlier.

I told him that I'd really would like him to come downstairs with me so that he could show me his ability in the training-room.

Because Steini had lost his ability to speak, he had to use a small lettering-board;

pointing at the letters that were in each word that he wanted to say.

For a while the stapping between us went on;

while I tried everything to get him downstairs, but he always pointed at the same three letters: N-E-I.

At last he surrendered to my nagging and pointed: A-L-L-T-I-L-A-G-I (okay) and down we went.

Because I'm rather impatient and would like to get positive results immediately I did not wait but pushed his wheel-chair right towards the dumb-bells that you're supposed to pull up, while gravity pulls the opposite way, a training that I remembered myself having practised a lot.

All around us were people with all kinds of disability, but trained their hearts out under the guidance of the physio-therapists who either had them under observation or assisted them when they needed.

A blond pretty girl who used to train me, leant towards me in a discrete way and whispered:

-How did you do that, Oli. We've been trying in vain for a long time to get him downstairs for training?

I just lifted my shoulders, because I didn't know what to answer.

-Well, Steini! Wouldn't you like to show me how strong you are, I asked when I'd turned the back of his chair towards the dumb-bells. For starters we will have a little weight, just to see how far we are able to go.

Steini gave it his best and he strived hard and even harder, but the dumb-bells would not move more than a tiny bit upwards at the track, only a few centimeters.

Now the lad became angry, so furious in fact, that immediately he pointed at the board that I'd laid down at the chair's side.

What does he intend to tell me, were my thoughts when I'd laid it on his laps.

In his fit of anger he was unusually quick when he spelled:

J-U-D-A-S.

In my sheer astonishment I pointed at myself and asked, whether he likened me to the most notorious traitor in history.

Me who had visited him only with good intentions.

And again his right hand moved over the board, this time spelling:

N-E-I space A-S-G-E-I-R space Y-F-I-R-L-A-E-K-N-I-R (No-Asgeir-head doctor) he spelled and then pushed his chair towards the elevator, and left me behind feeling hurt and defended after my short career as a physio-therapist.

Then the blond pretty one came to me again:

-He has probably considered that your sudden interest must've been some plot of the head doctor to make him re-attend his training.

Then I gave her my regards and deserted the place, feeling quite convinced about the fact that I was not fit for helping anyone but myself.

I shouldn't be meddling in other's affairs.

GRENSAS REVISITED

GRENSAS REVISITED

l Once in my school-years in Kenno (Teachers' Training College) my parents travelled to Greece in their vacation. There they met and became acquainted with an Icelandic couple from Selfoss.

As time went by it became apparent that these new friends had more in common than just the nationality.

Conversing they discovered that both owned sons that were victims of car-accidents and both of them had had similar injuries.

These new acquaintances said that they were very worried about their son's wellfare because he was still paralized in a wheel-chair, but primarily because he seemed to have lost his will to get better.

He refused to take part in any rehabilitation at Grensas where he was at the moment.

Shortly after they'd returned home my mother told me about this unfortunate lad on Grensas where I used to be myself.

The only difference was that he did not take part in any rehabilitation and seemed to lack the kind of motivation my mother used to give me in my time.

Nothing seemed to help this boy.

When I' d returned to my studies in Reykjavik from Keflavik where I had been working in my summer vacation the young man from Selfoss and his problem interrupted my thoughts again and again.

I asked myself whether I could give him the motivation he apparantly needed, and thus doing something to repay the debt I had with my fellow citizens.

I used buses pretty much when I had to travel inside the city limits.

When the weather was pleasant I used my two equally long legs as often as I could or had the time.

Then I took bus no. 6 to school which is located in Stakkshlid first thing in the morning, but after school I walked the same road towards my home in Skogargerdi which is in the east side of Reykjavik.

One day at the end of a schoolday, when I headed homewards strolling I decided to bend my route towards my former rehabilitation-station for a short visit, even though I'd made a solemn oath never to enter that place again.

The weather was at its best that day in the middle of autumn, when I decided to go to Grensas so that I could try and give the paralized boy from Selfoss a rouse to action; a little push.

Mixed memories came to mind, when I reentered the re-nowned rehabilitation-station where so many people had regained their health over the years.

I recognized almost every face on my way through the corridors and the greetings went from them to me and vice versa.

The sentences:

-How wonderful to see you, and, the progress you've made since you left us is quite incredible, I heard a number of times and through me went a feeling of pleasure.

I was also asked what I was doing or working these days. Usually they couldn't conceal their astonishment, when I revealed that I was in my last year at the Teachers' College and that I aimed to become an elementary teacher.

When I'd satisfied the curiosity of this friendly staff I got to asking them where the paralized boy from Selfoss was to be found, and then I was showed to his room.

ll

He was in a double room with an amazing man who astonished me with his talents.

The room-mate was namely totally blind.

Despite his handicap he was a very good musician, a keyboard- and guitar-player and played and sang his own songs.

One wasn't able to notice that his enormous handicap, as I reckon blindness must be, retarded him in any way;

automatically Stevie Wonder, the great American musician's name came to mind, when he held the one man concert for Steini and me, as we sat together and listened with admiration to his amusing songs.

When I'd introduced myself I told Steini that I had been in similar shoes as he a few years earlier.

I told him that I'd really would like him to come downstairs with me so that he could show me his ability in the training-room.

Because Steini had lost his ability to speak, he had to use a small lettering-board;

pointing at the letters that were in each word that he wanted to say.

For a while the stapping between us went on;

while I tried everything to get him downstairs, but he always pointed at the same three letters: N-E-I.

At last he surrendered to my nagging and pointed: A-L-L-T-I-L-A-G-I (okay) and down we went.

Because I'm rather impatient and would like to get positive results immediately I did not wait but pushed his wheel-chair right towards the dumb-bells that you're supposed to pull up, while gravity pulls the opposite way, a training that I remembered myself having practised a lot.

All around us were people with all kinds of disability, but trained their hearts out under the guidance of the physio-therapists who either had them under observation or assisted them when they needed.

A blond pretty girl who used to train me, leant towards me in a discrete way and whispered:

-How did you do that, Oli. We've been trying in vain for a long time to get him downstairs for training?

I just lifted my shoulders, because I didn't know what to answer.

-Well, Steini! Wouldn't you like to show me how strong you are, I asked when I'd turned the back of his chair towards the dumb-bells. For starters we will have a little weight, just to see how far we are able to go.

Steini gave it his best and he strived hard and even harder, but the dumb-bells would not move more than a tiny bit upwards at the track, only a few centimeters.

Now the lad became angry, so furious in fact, that immediately he pointed at the board that I'd laid down at the chair's side.

What does he intend to tell me, were my thoughts when I'd laid it on his laps.

In his fit of anger he was unusually quick when he spelled:

J-U-D-A-S.

In my sheer astonishment I pointed at myself and asked, whether he likened me to the most notorious traitor in history.

Me who had visited him only with good intentions.

And again his right hand moved over the board, this time spelling:

N-E-I space A-S-G-E-I-R space Y-F-I-R-L-A-E-K-N-I-R (No-Asgeir-head doctor) he spelled and then pushed his chair towards the elevator, and left me behind feeling hurt and defended after my short career as a physio-therapist.

Then the blond pretty one came to me again:

-He has probably considered that your sudden interest must've been some plot of the head doctor to make him re-attend his training.

Then I gave her my regards and deserted the place, feeling quite convinced about the fact that I was not fit for helping anyone but myself.

I shouldn't be meddling in other's affairs.

l
Once in my school-years in Kenno (Teachers' Training College) my parents travelled to Greece in their vacation. There they met and became acquainted with an Icelandic couple from Selfoss.