Steam of Life Page #3

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Have you been the best friend?

I have been for a long time,

already as a child.

So have I.

- I've been honest to everyone.

I've never stolen anything.

You have to ask always.

You have to be honest.

My best friend.

I'm the best friend.

All's well and in balance.

- All's in order.

Interesting, this is somehow mild.

- Yes, mild.

It has a lot of soul.

Touch of leather.

Light as the touch

of a summer fairy.

The touch of a summer virgin.

Right after swimming in the sea.

I've been to all army saunas

there possibly are -

from a battalion sauna

to a one-man tent sauna, -

and in Afghanistan,

in a Swedish sauna -

which differs from a Stockholm sauna

in that the newspaper is 2 weeks late.

How have you recovered

from getting back from the tour?

I had to work a few weeks -

to get myself back

into the regiment books.

I tried to adapt to being back home.

Some bad things happened

to me during that year away.

My mother died

and my relationship fell apart.

And you can't really

process those things out there, -

you have to concentrate

on the task at hand.

And you know,

I work out a lot.

I poured all that anxiety

and bad feelings into workouts.

What was it like when the Chaplain

brought the message?

If I remember correctly, -

my then girlfriend just called me

on my mobile -

and told me to sit down,

she had bad news.

Well, that was that.

The Chief-of-Staff and the Chaplain

met me on the club house....

The Chief immediately

started arranging -

for me to be on the next flight home -

so that I can go bury my mother.

Me and Jari Rankinen went to the chapel

to have a...

Take a moment.

- Yes.

We lit a candle

and read a passage from the Bible.

I could have hardened myself,

as I did before -

and claim that I didn't feel anything.

But now that I actually felt something,

it was easier to bear it.

In a military organization,

showing softness and weakness -

is not necessarily a strength.

You can be soft and weak in private.

You can't show it there.

- No, you can't.

And Finnish men

have traditionally been very tough.

I haven't regretted joining the army.

It has saved me.

I can't say a bad word.

The man and the job

belong together, in this case.

Will your son continue

in your footsteps?

Well... I'm happy to say he listens

to Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

Last week he cut his long hair,

so no more moshing.

But the signs are good.

- Yes.

His own words, said with a smile:

"Join the army? Seriously! ''

He has been

watching me and Jari -

and thought

how ridiculous it is.

But we do it with a big heart.

Whatever my son decides,

if he does it from his heart...

If he decides that he won't

do the military service -

and it comes from his heart,

I will totally stand by him.

Happy Independence Day.

When they ask children

to sing to Santa, -

then you feel like saying:

"Let's just get to the presents.''

Today there was one family

where nobody wanted to sing.

Then I wanted to hand out the presents,

but no, the lady didn't want that.

But you don't want to leave

after five minutes either.

You don't earn your money.

- All the homes had kids in there.

Have you noticed

that when Santa comes in, -

they offer you the best chair

or a place on the sofa.

But I have one family,

I won't mention names -

where Santa gets a servant's chair,

and it's halfway in the doorway.

A bit like taking some distance.

They're so far away

I feel like shouting or taking a mic.

Today I had a place

where they left me on the doorstep!

They cleared some space there,

but it really annoyed me -

I couldn't even get in,

had to shout from the door.

And usually Santa

is the guest of honor.

You know the Suzuki four-wheel drive?

- Yes, I know.

How many people does it seat?

Well, it takes in...

About a dozen people.

Well, we were 21 in there.

Driving in there.

Who drove it? How come?

- The owner.

It must have been a tight squeeze.

- You bet.

The only ones

that are still alive -

are me

and the owner of the car...

All the others

have kicked the bucket.

Like my wife last summer.

They first knocked on the door

before six a.m.

Then they rang the doorbell.

I said:
''Leena, where are you?"

"Who's at the door now?"

But there was nobody there.

When I opened the door,

it was two policemen.

They asked if I was so and so,

I said yes. They had a message.

They said it was about my wife,

or that do you know so and so....

I said yes, she's my wife.

They said:

"These are her rings and belongings."

"Our divers have just found her,

she drowned in the sea.''

She's in Hietaniemi,

at the cemetery.

She had a good funeral.

I have to take it one day at a time.

She was everything to me.

I want to break a sweat.

OK, go ahead.

Are you going to barbecue me?

- That's what I planned.

So where to now?

Downtown?

I've been on the Esplanade,

Oh yes.

It has all the modern conveniences.

No, I have a sleeping bag.

- I see.

But how do you fit in there?

- Into the toilet?

It's not that big.

- The big one.

I see, the big one.

- It costs 50 cents per night.

Per day. So you recommend?

Indoor plumbing and everything.

So you decided to come here?

- It was in the early 90's.

Matti asked me

to come and pan for gold.

I had no ties in the South,

so I stayed here.

I had nothing

to go back to there.

Bit like me, the same thing.

- Yes, that's right.

A bit similar, yes.

And it's good up here.

It's about two years ago

when I met my present wife.

And it's been going well.

- My age protects me from that.

Yes, your age helps,

protects you from women.

Well, not too much.

- I see.

They come and hug me.

One time at a work trip,

something bad happened.

They didn't warn us

about men working on the tracks.

We were taking a plaster train

to kslompolo.

To the cement factory.

- I see.

There was this guy,

standing on a small bridge.

He was waving a red flag!

I acknowledged it

and braked as hard as I could.

He started running

in front of the train.

Splash, splash.

He didn't get out in time?

- No. He tried to save his friend.

I see.

I still have nightmares about it.

It was only about 10 cars away.

The boys were under the cars.

But their death was...

- Instantaneous.

No suffering,

not lying in the hospital for long.

Later, I met one's sister

and the other one's wife....

Shouldrt have said

anything about this.

Sometimes it's good to talk.

I don't know if you noticed, -

but for years, it was hard to see

other families with twins.

Yes, I noticed,

we didn't have much contact then.

Understandable, in a way.

You can't wish this

on anyone else.

That one of the twins

is dead.

When I saw other twin families,

I became so jealous.

And I couldn't accept my own feelings.

That was very hard.

And even today, I don't want

to look at baby twins in prams.

But it has changed with time.

It's a bit corny,

two years and two months...

I'm not a superstitious person -

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