29.12.2006

CLOSE TO DEATH THE SECOND TIME 7

CLOSE TO DEATH THE SECOND TIME

Vll

The effect of my writings in our local paper wasn't obvious, that is I didn't get promoted to another job, but I got a lot of compliment from people I met as time went by.

Unwilling I had to keep on working at Heimir in the nation's most important branch of industry.

I had become sure that my Mayday-call had gone into one ear and out the other on the people that really mattered.

But a real bright light in my dark mind was a telephone-call I got a little over a year later.

-Hallo, I said into the receiver, one tempest-evening in the last days of March in the year 1984.

Of course I didn't realize at that moment the consequence of this unexpected and short phone-call for my future and living.

-Yes, hallo. Isn't this Oli, I could hear in the receiver.

-Ye, this is he, replied I, but didn´t recognize the voice on the other end.

-This is Emil on Vikur-frettir.

Is he going to hire me as a journalist, was my first thought and the feeling of optimism instantly came over me, because I'm an optimist at heart.

Before I got to ask him what the reason was for him calling me he proceeded, obviously doing his best giving me the impression that he was in good spirits, but I could distinguish an awkward tone in his speech.

Do you have the means to cover a political-debate in an article that we will have in our next number.

You will get paid for it, of course?

-Ye, alright, I started, feeling a bit dissappointed, but might I possibly get a job as a journalist on your paper, if you'll be pleased with my writing, I asked having my fingers crossed.

-Stranger things have happened, replied the editor.

I attended the debate and covered it in an article, which I named:

People of Sudurnes- Shake the Drowsiness off of You (2)

I received the payment, according to the number of words, but to this day my wish to be employed by the paper hasn't come true, nor have I been payed for all the articles I've written and have since been proclaimed in this important local weekly newspaper.

The second light that came to me in the darkness by sheer coincidence, when I by chance saw and read the distinquished newspaper Thjodviljinn (The Will of the People);

which used to be the voice of the communists, in some waiting-room.

This light in the dark reinforced me in my believe that my writings weren't just sheer bullshit:

April 10 1984 Clipped and cut Thjodviljinn

The Sudurnes Debate

A few days ago a general political meeting or debate came about in Keflavik, where the participants were four famous Icelandic politicians, one from each of the most popular parties;

Steingrimur Hermannsson,

Matthias Mathiesen,

Kjartan Johannsson and

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson debated.

(They all were representatives on Althingi, the Icelandic parliament when this came about, but in the period since then, all of them have become ministers,
and furthermore Grimsson has been elected president of the Icelandic republic.)

In the local Vikur-frettir there's a humorous covering of the debate by O.Th.E.

There the orators get the following marks for their oratory:

"Now in conclusion of the debate when I have a nice over-look, a judgement will be given about each participant in the meeting.

In my opinion Kjartan is the victor of the first round with his unlimited calmness and deliberation.

But the one that had head and shoulders over the others was Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who in the second round had such a hold on his audience that it was just as every word was quaffed from his lips in a great suggestion.

He reminded me on one of the world´s greatest speakers of the century (Adolf).
-og.

This small paragraph in the herald of equality and confraternity encouraged me into more writing. In the next several months I was the author of many
articles covering various subjects: Fish-farming (3), May first- Labour Day (4), Critical Circum-stances of the Main Pillars of Our Society "Freezing Plants' Men and Women (5), Succession of Chal-lenges (6), If No-one was Willing to Catch the Fish nor Work in Fish Factories (7).

Still there was no accomplishment from my writ-ings, but the third light in my darkness came in the Vikur-frettir in the first week of June, when one
younker whom I'd heard of because of his unselfish idealistic work for the communist-party in Keflavik, wrote a short article.

June 2.1984 Vikurfrettir

PRAISEWORTHY INDICATION BY O.Th.E.

Previously articles covering various union affairs have been appearing in Vikurfrettir, written by O.Th.E. These quite remarkable articles, which I
find an urge to praise and write about so that more people might read them, deal with the circumstanc-es and issues of the working class, especially
labourers in fish-factories. By time that someone finds the urge to cover these issues with the gravity they deserve, for the way these people that work in this fundamental trade are treated is not to be proud of, bearing one of the lowest wages in this country.

Among other issues O.Th.E. summons store-owners in one article to meet wage-earners concerning the price of goods, the need is quite urgent, because various necessities' prices went upwards last June 1. E.g. milk that went up 8.2%, butter 9.2%, lambmeat 7.9 and beef 6, but the salary only 2%.

A quite remarkable fact it is that in this country laborers established around the turning of the century companies that were supposed to lower the
prices for the poorest people. These companies are reknowned today by most of us under the name Co-up's. Unfortuneately they have in some places come into the hands of wrong people, because they are not everywhere run in the socialistic way in favour of the laborers, just as was the initial purpose.

Instead they seem to have changed into pro-fusal greed-machines, that often turn out to be more expansive than those companies in the private sector which they were established against.

O.Th.E. also summons laborers in fish-factories to form a union to stand by their rights and battle for higher wages. That won't come true unless
people learn to stand together.

Therefore I summon you laborers to join hands in establishing the union that O.Th.E. has in mind, because that is a good method for making a better
living.

Finally I would like to thank O.Th.E. for great articles and want to encourage him to keep on writing about these important issues in our
society.
Johann Bjornsson

CLOSE TO DEATH THE SECOND TIME 7

CLOSE TO DEATH THE SECOND TIME

Vll

The effect of my writings in our local paper wasn't obvious, that is I didn't get promoted to another job, but I got a lot of compliment from people I met as time went by.

Unwilling I had to keep on working at Heimir in the nation's most important branch of industry.

I had become sure that my Mayday-call had gone into one ear and out the other on the people that really mattered.

But a real bright light in my dark mind was a telephone-call I got a little over a year later.

-Hallo, I said into the receiver, one tempest-evening in the last days of March in the year 1984.

Of course I didn't realize at that moment the consequence of this unexpected and short phone-call for my future and living.

-Yes, hallo. Isn't this Oli, I could hear in the receiver.

-Ye, this is he, replied I, but didn´t recognize the voice on the other end.

-This is Emil on Vikur-frettir.

Is he going to hire me as a journalist, was my first thought and the feeling of optimism instantly came over me, because I'm an optimist at heart.

Before I got to ask him what the reason was for him calling me he proceeded, obviously doing his best giving me the impression that he was in good spirits, but I could distinguish an awkward tone in his speech.

Do you have the means to cover a political-debate in an article that we will have in our next number.

You will get paid for it, of course?

-Ye, alright, I started, feeling a bit dissappointed, but might I possibly get a job as a journalist on your paper, if you'll be pleased with my writing, I asked having my fingers crossed.

-Stranger things have happened, replied the editor.

I attended the debate and covered it in an article, which I named:

People of Sudurnes- Shake the Drowsiness off of You (2)

I received the payment, according to the number of words, but to this day my wish to be employed by the paper hasn't come true, nor have I been payed for all the articles I've written and have since been proclaimed in this important local weekly newspaper.

The second light that came to me in the darkness by sheer coincidence, when I by chance saw and read the distinquished newspaper Thjodviljinn (The Will of the People);

which used to be the voice of the communists, in some waiting-room.

This light in the dark reinforced me in my believe that my writings weren't just sheer bullshit:

April 10 1984 Clipped and cut Thjodviljinn

The Sudurnes Debate

A few days ago a general political meeting or debate came about in Keflavik, where the participants were four famous Icelandic politicians, one from each of the most popular parties;

Steingrimur Hermannsson,

Matthias Mathiesen,

Kjartan Johannsson and

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson debated.

(They all were representatives on Althingi, the Icelandic parliament when this came about, but in the period since then, all of them have become ministers,and furthermore Grimsson has been elected president of the Icelandic republic.)

In the local Vikur-frettir there's a humorous covering of the debate by O.Th.E.

There the orators get the following marks for their oratory:

"Now in conclusion of the debate when I have a nice over-look, a judgement will be given about each participant in the meeting.

In my opinion Kjartan is the victor of the first round with his unlimited calmness and deliberation.

But the one that had head and shoulders over the others was Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who in the second round had such a hold on his audience that it was just as every word was quaffed from his lips in a great suggestion.

He reminded me on one of the world´s greatest speakers of the century (Adolf). -og.

Still there was no accomplishment from my writ-ings, but the third light in my darkness came in the Vikur-frettir in the first week of June, when oneyounker whom I'd heard of because of his unselfish idealistic work for the communist-party in Keflavik, wrote a short article.

June 2.1984 Vikurfrettir

PRAISEWORTHY INDICATION BY O.Th.E.

Among other issues O.Th.E. summons store-owners in one article to meet wage-earners concerning the price of goods, the need is quite urgent, because various necessities' prices went upwards last June 1. E.g. milk that went up 8.2%, butter 9.2%, lambmeat 7.9 and beef 6, but the salary only 2%.

Instead they seem to have changed into pro-fusal greed-machines, that often turn out to be more expansive than those companies in the private sector which they were established against.

O.Th.E. also summons laborers in fish-factories to form a union to stand by their rights and battle for higher wages. That won't come true unlesspeople learn to stand together.

Therefore I summon you laborers to join hands in establishing the union that O.Th.E. has in mind, because that is a good method for making a betterliving.

Finally I would like to thank O.Th.E. for great articles and want to encourage him to keep on writing about these important issues in oursociety. Johann Bjornsson

(They all were representatives on Althingi, the Icelandic parliament when this came about, but in the period since then, all of them have become ministers,
and furthermore Grimsson has been elected president of the Icelandic republic.)

He reminded me on one of the world´s greatest speakers of the century (Adolf).
-og.

Still there was no accomplishment from my writ-ings, but the third light in my darkness came in the Vikur-frettir in the first week of June, when one
younker whom I'd heard of because of his unselfish idealistic work for the communist-party in Keflavik, wrote a short article.

O.Th.E. also summons laborers in fish-factories to form a union to stand by their rights and battle for higher wages. That won't come true unless
people learn to stand together.

Therefore I summon you laborers to join hands in establishing the union that O.Th.E. has in mind, because that is a good method for making a better
living.

Finally I would like to thank O.Th.E. for great articles and want to encourage him to keep on writing about these important issues in our
society.
Johann Bjornsson