News of Norway, issue 8, 1995
"I have goose bumps all over!" Jon McKee told News of Norway over the phone as he stood before 20 second graders at Mount Woodson Elementary School in Ramona, California. The 49-year-old teacher had just learned that he had won our Short Story Contest -- and thus a trip to Norway for two -- for his story about "My Norwegian-American Experience,"
Jon McKee Wins Norway
Our Short Story Contest attracted nearly 500 entries, and selecting a winner was difficult. Many of the short stories proved their authors to be worthy of free trips to Norway, but alas we can only pick one first prize winner.
Our jurors quickly discovered that most stories fell into a few categories: there were war veteran stories, love stories, stories written by children, immigration stories, experiences from modern Norway, and Norwegian-Americans tracing their roots in Norway. By the time of the final round, when the field had been winnowed down to about 50 entries, each judge picked five finalists. A handful of stories had wide support among the judges.
Picking the winner took some discussion. The competition was so close that we decided to honor runner-ups with consolation prizes as well. Furthermore, we hope the contest stories may be published in the near future after we get in touch with the authors.
Meanwhile, to the hundreds of you who participated, Thank You All!
The winning story:
My Norwegian-American Experience
By Jon McKee
Vietnam wasn't much of a war, but, as my drill instructor never wearied of telling me, it was the only war we had. Drafted out of college in 1967 for "lack of timely, orderly progress toward a goal" (my Draft Board's words, not mine), I was now making very timely, very orderly progress through basic and advanced training at Fort Ord, California, with my orders already in hand for a 30-day leave, followed by a late October reporting date to Travis Air Force Base and Vietnam. At this point, not yet twenty years old, I made an emotional decision to flee the U.S. Army and, using my college student passport, establish residency abroad.
Hence I found myself, of an early fall morning, gazing through the coffee shop window of Oslo International Airport. Pretending has never been easy for me, and the strain of pretending to know what I was going to do next must have been readily apparent, for it was at this point that Kjersti Magnussen entered and forever altered my life with a simple, "Is this seat taken?" She was newly retired from a 35-year teaching career, newly widowed, and (like me, as she observed) seeking a new niche in a new life. A nephew, Bjorn, was due to arrive at the airport shortly; would I care to spend a couple of days with them, getting my feet on the ground, so to speak?
The couple of days became a couple of weeks-two of the dearest, most gratifying and edifying weeks of my life. Through Kjersti's and Bjorn's conversations-English always, for my benefit-I came to know the generations of the Magnussen family-their joys and sorrows, their successes and failures, their gains and their losses; I gained an understanding of how their family history was inextricably intertwined with their nation's history; of how Norway's culture was vibrant and alive because the Magnussen family, and countless others like it, was vibrant and alive. I learned that heritage is tangible, that it is conveyed and, indeed, inherited. I learned that pride in and love of family can be inseparable from pride in and love of country.
And so, when Kjersti Magnussen gently reminded me that a few days yet remained of my authorized leave, my decision was easy: it was no longer purely emotional; it was logical, rational, and wholehearted.
Kjersti didn't get to enjoy her retirement for as long as we would have wished; but I want her countrymen to know that, because she loved her country, prized her heritage, and loved teaching even a confused young foreign soldier, there lives in America today a Vietnam veteran who loves his country, who found his niche in teaching, and who gives thanks daily that Kjersti Magnussen found hers.
A Book?
How can all the history, tradition and emotions embedded in nearly 500 short stories be shared? Several contestants suggested that News of Norway collect and publish the short stories. Now, everybody may not be interested in this, but we are making plans to release the names and addresses of the contestants to a commercial publisher. If you do not want to participate, that's fine. If you do, that's even better. If you want to see your short story published, maybe get some help to edit it further, this might be your chance. News of Norway and the Embassy do not have the capacity to undertake such an extensive project, but we know at least one publishing house that is interested, and there may be others. So, story writers, in a month or two you may receive a proposal to have your story published in a book called My Norwegian-American Experience.
Editor's Note:
Now that you have read this moving story, we must tell that it is fiction -- a fact we did not know until after the judges had chosen it as the winner of our Short Story Contest. However real the story seems, fiction it is, and fiction is clearly eligible according to the contest rules we announced. Thus we are proud to award the prize to Jon McKee for a very creative piece of writing.
McKee has since told us that he is a Vietnam veteran. But he has never been to Norway. He has a close friend who is a third-generation Norwegian-American, and McKee tried to express the love that his friend has for Norway and its people. Well, he certainly succeeded in doing that, and we offer hearty congratulations.