Saturday

On Saturday we had Victors conformation in the church here in Stockholm, another one of those stone structures dating back several hundred years and dripping with culture from every pore.

We took our visiting American friend along for the service. It was just a short walk down from the apartment here. Karin told Gage that the ordeal would last about an hour and a half and that lunch would be served afterwards with all the visiting relatives and friends. The service took close to two full hours with everyone milling around afterwards for coffee and cake. Poor Gage sat diligently for two hours in the church not understanding a word of the Swedish ceremony. We all had to give him credit for having the patients to do that. That’s got to be similar to those long-winded Catholic services done in Latin!

We finally made it back to the courtyard house for an early evening lunch. Some of the older daughters of relatives here wanted to take the boys out on the town afterwards, when us grown-ups were winding down. The girls grew up here and know the inside fun spots to go to, which the boys jumped on right away. The idea of hanging out with natives in the happening clubs was a must. They were going to check out some place by the water where they could dance all night. And what teenage boys are going to say no to going out with three gorgeous blond Swedes, they’re not idiots!!!

I heard they stumbled in at 3:30 in the morning.

Richard Boyer