My Njord Encounter
I was on my way to Wyrmholm for Stitch-N-Bitch, and swung
through Hayward on the way to wait for David to catch up with me. Of course,
being me, I waited in Starbucks. I’d brought a book in, but I’ll take a
conversation over a book most of the time, so I was quite content for the
fellow occupying one of the two comfortable chairs to chat with me. I was,
however, startled that he started it—I’m used to being the one to strike
up the conversation.
He was an older fellow, maybe in his 70s. Narrow frame, white hair, lovely blue eyes, and all smiles and charm. He had been born in Norway, but was raised in the US. His mother wanted him to be a minister, but he was called to join the Navy, and there spent most of his career. Even now, he’s an officer in the reserve, because he enjoys the work, but is too old for full-time. His main job now is as a night banker, handling the accounts between transaction phases. He’s also a teacher of math because he enjoys instructing and motivating young people. His wife is departed, though he looks forward to being with her again when he passes on. In the meantime he’s keeping company with a wonderful woman who understands things.
Most of the conversation simply amused me, because he was quite charming and personable, and very cheerful. He asked me questions about how things were for me, and we passed the time. But what struck me very strongly, emotionally, and made me realize that I’d just been chatting with an old blue-eyed sailor born in Norway was when, after David showed up, the old fellow explained how proud he was to hear that I was going to graduate with two AAs this June. For just a moment I felt as though he’d known me for years, as if I were some relative of his, not a total stranger he started talking to less than an hour ago. And I recognised that Goodfather Njord had just sent me a message I hadn’t been listening for directly.
When I got to Wyrmholm, I was inspired to make a new
necklace for Njord, and I’ve been wearing it a lot lately. But Njord doesn’t
seem very talkative. He’s been comforting, and supportive, but not usually very
chatty. I’ve found Him, in the past, to be the kind of fellow who is very slow
to temper—partially because He just plain likes people, and partially because
He is very patient, but also because He has a fair amount of experience with
women who have rather quick tempers, and has learned that the best way to
handle other people losing theirs is to keep your own.
He enjoys the look on someone’s face when He gives them a treasure they never expected to receive, or something amazing they’d never even heard of before—especially His wives and children. I have a sense that He dotes on Freya—first when She was a young girl, bringing Her lovely things, and then later, more protectively, when She grieved for Od.
And Njord has offered me help for my own father, whose luck as an entrepreneur hasn’t been what it could be. He’s expressed a willingness to help my father “bring his ships in”—literally: I was instructed that we should get together and made a model long ship, and set it to water, with his hopes in the hold.