Tallinn, Tartu and Drew!

Overlooking "Old Town" & the Baltic in Tallinn, Estonia (Home of Skype)

As we boarded our plane to Estonia, our stewardess on the flight to Tallinn stared right out into space, eyes not blinking, standing perfectly still at the end of the aisle. It was startling when she finally moved, almost like a manikin waking up -- very creepy.

Estonia is the home of Skype, is ranked as “the most connected” country in terms of free wi-fi and high speed internet, and is perhaps the fastest growing economy in the European Union. Estonia suffers none of the problems that plague many of the EU’s other members.

If you follow these things like I do, you know that Estonia was the subject of a much publicized debate between a New York Times prize winning economist and the President of Estonia on whether the lack of “austerity” in Estonia is the reason it has not suffered the same fate.

After landing on the tarmac at Estonia International, a small but very modern and new airport itself, another young person met us with a wheelchair. He helped us through everything but we discovered my bag was still in Chicago.

Looking Up to the Wall Around Old Town Tallinn

We exchanged our money (shocking every time -- the Euro makes you feel like you have had your pocket picked before you even leave the airport -- always save most of your money for a local bank where the exchange rate is low or -- in London -- free), made a  claim for the bag, and left for the bus station, also new and clean.

At the bus station I secured our bags in a rental locker, and the cab driver -- barely speaking English -- dropped us off at the “Old Town” Section of Tallinn.

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and a port city on the Baltic dating back to the 12th Century. “Old Town” with its walled fortress still visible is a cobblestoned-enchanted place.  After being let off at the top of the “fortress” we looked out over the city and all the church steeples.

In Front of the Parliament Building in Old Town

We say the “tv station” tower in the distance and, later, the Parliament Building. It was here  that perhaps one of the greatest peaceful revolutions took place as the USSR crumbled under Gorbachev. “The Singing Revolution” as it is called, really ranks in history with one of the most significant non-violent and successful revolutions in history.

In 1989, the people of Estonia used their bi-annual “singing festival” too sing for liberty from the Soviet Union after limited freedoms were allowed under Gorbachev, eventually leading later to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

Now Estonia is a free republic and independent from its many conquering powers for the first time since before WWII.  It is a story that ranks up there with Nelson Mandela and Marin Luther King in the non-violent way the Estonian people won independence.

Cobblestone Streets Forever in "Old Town"

After touring Tallinn and all its quant cobble stoned winding “Old Europe” charm, we headed back to the bus station where we booked the big “purple bus” a new modern bus -- equipped with Wi Fi even (another first for me) -- and embarked on a 2 hour drive to Tartu to finally meet up with Drew. We passed many Estonian farms, wheat fields, and beautiful forests of spruce and pine before finally coming into Tartu.

As the bus entered the college town, I began to notice landmarks that I had seen in Drew’s many videos that he was hired to do for the University after he placed in a competitive video and blogging competition.

As we rounded the corner and pulled up to the station, I was excited to see Drew there waiting for us. We got off the bus and hugged each other after a long eleven months of being apart. It had been the longest I had been away from Drew in all of his 23 years.

Olaf Cathedral -- Once the Tallest Building in Europe

After getting caught-up and getting our bags, we walked across town to his campus, across the bridge I had seen in so many pictures, and finally to his dorm at 22 Raatuse where I managed a much welcomed shower.

Drew then took us on a tour of Tartu -- another beautiful and charming city with a good mix of “old European” cobblestone streets and modern conveniences and infrastructure. One is struck by how clean and fresh the air is here in Estonia -- the cleanest air of any country according to Drew.

We saw the famous town square and the fountain with the two lovers under the umbrella. Every student must swim in the fountain Drew says. This is the best time of the year to be in Estonia, and the outdoor cafes are in full bloom everywhere you look.

Drew and Dad at the Fountain in front at Tartu

The  Original 15th Century Wall

After a great tour that included the pub with the “highest ceiling of any pub in the world” Drew found us a cafe and we set outside and had fish soup, salad and an espresso for me. Between the fresh clean air, the wonderful cool breeze that seemed to be ever-present, and the meal, my jet lag was kicking in big-time. I had a hard time not falling to sleep right there on the table.

After we finished our beer, and some ice cream that Tartu is known for, we headed back to the dorm for a good nights rest. I don’t even remember my head hitting the pillow.

It was good to be in Tartu. It was good to see Drew again. I can see why he is so sad to be leaving such a wonderful city. Tomorrow more Tartu.

Old Town Wall

Pub in Old Town

Downtown Tallinn

"It Was the Worst of Flights, It was the Best of Flights"

Dad Waiting on Weather Delays in Memphis

OK I know this is a blog about Hemingway and not Charles Dickens, but the title of today's blog about our two flights could not be more appropriate.

Let me begin by suggesting that traveling with your octogenarian father may sound challenging to you. Let me set you straight right now: if you have any octogenarian relatives, friends, people you meet at the airport for the first time, PICK THEM AS YOUR TRAVEL PARTNER NOW!

It did not start out that way though.The trip got off ok. Sissy dropped us off pretty much on time at Memphis International. The most harrowing time of course being the days before such a trip catching up, getting ahead, trying to get your crazy busy life to stop the merry go round so you can jump off before you get knocked back down when it comes round again.

But despite blue skies in Memphis, there was trouble already. Chicago. The Windy City was acting up as usual and causing delays. We arrived just in time to rush through the terminal, to the tram, and then to the International terminal and all the way to the very last desk for LOT Polish Airlines, who promptly informed us to turn on our heels and return to American Airlines from whence we came to get them to reroute us, since we had just missed our flight to Warsaw and the connecting one to Tallinn.

We found the AA International Desk, stayed in a long line (everyone else had missed their connections as well) until called. The lady was nice but she reminded me of that SNL character who stares at you then down at the keyboard typing like a mad lady until oh about 1 hour later she found us something. However, we would be losing a whole day. We would be sent to NYC LaGuardia where we would stay the night and then transfer to JFK for a 5:45pm flight on Finnish Airways to Helsinki and then -- finally-- Tallinn.

Dad in Front of the Great Neck Train Station Not Far from The Andrew Hotel

One major problem. There were no hotels, but the NYC plane was leaving so we got on with no idea where we would stay that night. Fortunately, the gate lady in New York, after acting somewhat perturbed, reacted to Dad’s Southern Charm and ended up getting us a free night and free ground transportation (value $350) at The Andrew Hotel in Great Neck on Long Island, which had a train station for the Long Island Railroad right across from it so we could spend a few hours the next day in “the City”. Turned out the “typical New Yorker” was actually very nice.

With the Manager of the Irish Pub on Times Square

So after a good night’s sleep and a free breakfast that morning, we headed to Time’s Square, ate at an Irish Restaurant, people watched, and promptly headed back in time to make our flight at JFK. We love The Andrew hotel, Grace and all the staff. In fact all the people in New York were nice to us, just like they had been when I took the girls back in October. Now here comes the “find an octogenarian” part of this story.

When we got to the Finnish Airways terminal, I asked for a wheelchair for my Dad. He had had back surgery a few years ago and is 82 years old. It was a long walk to our gate. I remembered my mother-in-law using one due to a ankle issue and I thought it was worth a shot.

People Watching in Times Square

All I can say is, all of a sudden you would think I had just announced that the King of Finland was on this flight. We had a man with a wheelchair push him all the way to the gate, at which point one of the Finish Stewards asked me his age, and immediately upgraded us to First Class. She even hugged and kissed me and said “you take care of your father.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but this was a big deal to me. I had never been in First Class before, and neither had Dad. On an International Flight, where you are often scrunched-up with a crick in your neck for the next 9 hours, it means everything!

French Champagne and a NY Times to Get Started

I now know how “Jack” felt in the movie “Titanic” when he was invited to dine with the rich and beautiful at the Captain’s table. I was all “why are you giving me champagne? Are you going to ask for my credit card... because you know back there these days they even make you pay for peanuts!”

We went on to get a full five course meal (I had the filet, French cheeses, au gratin, fruit salad, cheese cake, baguette,etc...) with the best French wines, including a desert wine that I know priced for around $400 at a wine store in Memphis. “Wine Spectator” Magazine has ranked Finnish Airlines as the “best wine served on business class on an airlines” several years running.

I read my Kendall, charged my phone, looked over the complimentary copy of the Times, watched the latest news on the BBC, listened to classical music on my “real” headphones -- the really good kind they give you -- and eventually the “relaxation meditation” channel recorded especially for Finnish Airlines, as I moved my seat all the way into recline and then into bed mode and drifted off to sleep, feeling like I had just had Thanksgiving Dinner I was so stuffed. This is the life. I looked back at Dad, who was sitting with someone else across the way, and he seemed to be in heaven.

Sleeping Pods in the Finish Airlines Club in Helsinki

We were awoken the next “morning” as the sun “rose” over the the snow caped mountains of Northern Norway outside my two windows. They came around and handed us warm wet towels for our face. The stewardesses were also fluent English speakers, with a perfect “American accent.”

We were then served a full course breakfast of omelets, bacon, orange juice, fruit bowel, yogurt and croissant. Oh, and of course a cappuccino. I could not eat it all as I was stlll a bit stuffed from the dinner the night before. I felt so pampered and spoiled that I almost decided to vote Republican in the next election -- economy class? Who cares! Poor saps. LOL

Alas, when we landed in Helsinki, they had yet another young lady meet us and stroll Dad to the special members only airport club, where we could wait and eat and drink some more while we waited for our next flight. We were too stuffed to even look at the food.

The young lady , named “Nea” , is a college student in Finland, and I asked her about her education. She explained that education all the way through college is not only free but that they even pay you to go to college there. However, it is very competitive. Finland has one of the best public education systems in the world. She was accepted into tourism studies and this was her summer job. We tipped her for her trouble and she looked surprised at the tip, unlike the gentleman in NYC who --while nice -- certainly expected to be tipped (and he deserved it). Now that we were Republicans though, we were getting kind of stingy with our tipping... so her response was welcome. We tipped her anyway, the Democrat in us still hanging on for dear life at this point.

Helsinki Airport Club Lounge

The Helsinki Airport -- indeed all scandinavian airports -- are ultra-modern affairs and free Wy Fi everywhere. They have “public phones” but they are smart phones tethered to a desk... they even have “sleeping” pods not unlike in the movie “The Intern” at the Google campus there. They have free charging stations for your phones that you just sit them on -- no wires.

Cannot Get Enough of this Lounge

All I can say is if it is true that the state of a nation’s infrastructure is an indication of the rise or decline of a civilization, the Finns make us look pretty bad in the US. Everything is ultra modern, new, clean, and with Green technology integrated everywhere you look.

We finally boarded our plane -- a prop plane -- for a short hop across the Baltic Sea to Estonia and -- finally -- Drew!

Getting On the Puddle Jumper to Estonia

We were turning back into pumpkins, but wow what a trip. Indeed, it was the worst of flights, it was the best of flights.

A Father-Son Tribute: "Strange Tribe"

"Strange Tribe" by John Hemingway

I offer this post today -- albeit nearly a week later than I had planned -- to Fathers. I have been so busy getting ahead on my work as well as regular preparations for my "trip of a lifetime" to Europe and Africa, departing this Wednesday, that I have not been as diligent on my writing.

However, this book is one of the best "father-son" books I have ever read. It deals with three generations -- Ernest, Gregory, and John. As I am about to embark on an epic "three generation tour" with my father and my son in Europe, to conclude with a father-son journey up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the timing for this book for me could not have been better. It is a very fast, interesting and easy read. It is a page turner for sure.

"Strange Tribe", is written by author John Hemingway. John is the Grandson of Ernest and the son of Gregory Hemingway, Ernest's son by his second marriage to Pauline Pfeiffer. 

The title of the book refers to a statement Ernest made to Greg -- John's Dad -- after catching him in a particularly embarrassing moment trying on female clothing. While that may seem like a tantalizing or maybe uncomfortable way to begin a book about one's father, the truth is that the issue of Greg Hemingway's cross-dressing and other issues are no secret. It was a matter of very public record and not something that has ever been "covered" up or "glossed" over by the family.

 I purchased this book in May on my annual pilgrimage to the Pfeiffer- Hemingway home in Piggott, Arkansas. If you have not been to this home it is well worth the visit. In the 1990s, as a state senator, I had been one of the co-sponsors and strongest supporters of the bill creating and funding the museum, which was the project of Arkansas State University and Dr. Ruth A Hawkins, who has always had a very strong vision for the Arkansas Delta and the Crowley's Ridge area. She also wrote a book on the Hemingway-Pfeiffer marriage, entitled "Unbelievable Happiness and Final Sorrow" that you can buy at the bookstore there and on Amazon. However, it was not until last year, my first visit to the museum, that I caught the "Hemingway bug". So be careful if you visit. You may end up spending a lot of money and time on this subject.

Actually, the title "Strange Tribe" is perfect. It sums up the book perfectly. John Hemingway (referred to by his first name from here on so as not to confuse the Hemingways) tells his own father-son story with his Dad while also seeking to understand his family and the influence of it on both his grandfather and his own father. 

The title is so appropriate it actually reminds me about the time Ernest was challenged to come up with the "shortest short story" with only one sentence. The next day he came up with "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn." It is still considered the shortest short story in literature. Anyway, this title "Strange Tribe" says it all.  Once you have read the book you will understand.

It is also a very fitting tribute to all fathers. The father looms large and heroic to every son. He is at times a superhero, at times a mystery, and ultimately a disappointment as well. There is nowhere any father's image can go but down after so many years being viewed through the worshiping eyes of a young boy. In John's case, this was especially true. It was also especially true of Greg as well. 

In many ways, Greg appears to be the true heir to his father's dynasty of talent and introspection. He looked like Ernest, he was a very sensitive soul, much like his father, and he had a strong feminine side. While Greg liked to cross-dress, he was always "straight" in his sexuality. Greg was supposed to be the girl that Ernest and Pauline wanted, and apparently there was disappointment when yet another boy was born. In addition, Pauline left the care of Greg almost entirely in the hands of a stern headmistress who disciplined Greg by threatening to leave him "like his parents" who were so often traveling.

Likewise, Ernest and his brother were often dressed-up as girls when they were children. Their mother -- herself an interesting personality -- basically cross-dressed her children for a very long time. In addition, some of the topics in Ernest's books and short stories touch on issues of gender confusion and role play that make it clear that when Ernest walked in on Greg that day it was not exactly a new concept.

John provides us with his own life story as a child who was moved around from one family to another. His chapters on living with Ernest's brother and his wife were some of the most interesting to me as well. John grew up mostly in Miami, and he had a mother who had lots of mental issues as well. He describes his efforts at coping with this kind of unsettled madness as well as growing up a "Hemingway" and what that means. The issues of inter-family disagreements, rivalries, and misunderstandings, as seen by a younger generation of Hemingways, was interesting as well. 

He describes how his father coped with being the son of Ernest and Pauline Hemingway, and how he coped with being the grandson and Greg's son. I thought that so much of what he went through we all go through, only to a lesser degree. However, this allows us to find empathy for his story while at the same time being captivated by who we are talking about here. I was relieved to see that Ernest did seem to care very deeply for all of his children, despite the problems. In his many letters to his son Greg it was apparent that Ernest never lost patience with all the trials and mistakes and problems. He seemed to support him no matter how hateful Greg could be in his letters to Ernest. I like this about him and every father can probably identify with this to some degree as well.

You may be shocked that we are mentioning  "femininity" or "cross-dressing" or anything not totally male oriented when discussing this topic. Afterall, we are talking about Hemingway -- the great man of machismo, that icon of masculinity, the man who stared at death rather than ignoring it, the man who literally seemed to define grace under fire. We are talking about perhaps the greatest writer of the 20th Century and of American Literature itself (although I have to put him a close second to Mark Twain here, a fact with which even Hemingway seemed to agree).

However, in this book his grandson John does a very good job of explaining I think how this side of  Ernest's nature was very much a part of being a Hemingway as well. Indeed, while it was manifested in Greg in ways that are obvious, it may have been manifested in Ernest in ways not so obvious at first but still very significant.   There is no doubt that Ernest was a genius. It has been said that a genius is someone who can keep two opposing ideas in their mind at the same time while resolving a problem -- that many geniuses use both sides of their brain at the same time to perceive and "sense" the world around them.

Perhaps this is the essence of the Hemingway genius, that he was able to feel strongly both sides -- the feminine and the masculine -- and that it was this almost spiritual way of understanding the "real world" as it is that makes Ernest a genius. Maybe it was through this understanding and a heightened empathy and ultra-sensitivity to the death he witnessed on the battlefields of Italy and Spain that he was able to see the real tragedy and drama of life as it really is, and not dressed up as something it isn't -- and through this we can really understand death and therefore life itself and how it should be lived. Maybe it was his "feminine" side that was able to take out a pencil or sit at a typewriter "and bleed".

While John explains all of the problems he and his father had -- even being estranged for ten years -- he also does at the end what most of us sons do when we are grown. We seek to understand, to empathize, to drop the judgement and the blame.

For most of us, if the father has fallen in our eyes by the time we are teenagers, the father returns later in life as a sort of hero once again. After having your own children, one is better able to see and understand your own father in a new light and from a wiser perspective. This book takes us on that journey, but is more interesting than most because of who we are talking about here. It is so essentially the same as what you may have experienced, and at the same time very different. 

John Hemingway writes of feeling lucky that some of the mental issues in his family seemed to have "skipped" over him. He writes of his determination to prevent his own children from enduring the kind of craziness that he and his father and grandfather were made to endure. After all he has been through, John turned out to be one of the "normal" ones.  

One generational gift that seems not to have passed-over John Hemingway is the talent for writing. It must be an intimidating thing to have a name like Hemingway when you sit down to write. However, there is no question that he has the gift, one that even his Dad (who called it like he saw it -- not unlike Ernest) seemed to get excited about when he read his work. His writing is smooth and easy to follow.

I have been keeping two books going most of the time, one usually on biography and the other a work of  EH. I would read this one every morning over breakfast while reading "Death in the Afternoon" and now "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in the evenings.

In "Strange Tribe" John Hemingway establishes himself as his own man and a writer who needs to make no apologies for his name. He has found his own voice. We are lucky as readers that he has picked up the "family pen" and I hope he will continue in the "family business" as well.

The final test for any book is how you really feel at the end of it. If the book is really good, it is like saying "good bye" to a friend. You are sad to turn the last page. "Strange Tribe" passed this test for me. 

It is true that there seems like hundreds of biographies on all things related to "Hemingway". It is really mind boggling how popular he is. However, most people cannot read them all. This is one you should have on your "must read list" if you want to understand the family and Ernest Hemingway.

You just have to read it yourself to find out what I mean.

http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Tribe-A-Family-Memoir/dp/1599211122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371919767&sr=8-1&keywords=%22Strange+Tribe%22

Click on this link to buy it today.

Hemingway and Roosevelt in Africa -- My Two Favorite People

As I prepare for my trip to Tanzania, I am getting more excited every day. A year ago, such a trip would not have even been dreamed about, but the world works in mysterious ways, and so does the Lord.

It was a year ago that I met Father Honest Munishi, of St. Mary's Catholic Church. He was wearing a shirt that said "Tanzania National Park" or something like that. I asked him about it, and it turns out he was from Moshi, Tanzania, at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and had once worked there as a guide. 

At the same time, Sherman Banks of the Arkansas Municipal League's International Sister Cities Program, had been working with our mayor, Arnell Willis, and me towards building a sister-city relationship with Amsterdam and "an African country".  There are several international sister cities in Arkansas, from small Star City to North Little Rock, which has several. The benefits can prove numerous for tourism and economic development, not to mention cultural and educational opportunities. It is a successful world-wide program.

Father Honest Munishi of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Helena, Arkansa

But while my goal was Amsterdam, the goal of Mr. Banks had been to establish the first such relationship between an Arkansas city and an African city. Helena seemed to make sense due to our large African American population. Others we have talked about in the future include Italy and France. You can read more about this great program here:http://sister-cities.org/

I was excited to tell Sherman about Father Honest, and our project began.

In July, almost exactly a year later, a party of people from Helena will be traveling to Moshi, Tanzania at their own expense, with Mayor Willis as our head of state so to speak, to meet with the Mayor of Moshi and form a sister city relationship. They will return through Amsterdam, where further conversations will be held as well about Blues Tourism to Helena, the Mississippi River, Elvis, and other things. My son, Drew, and I will be joining them for the Africa portion of the trip.

All of us are handling our transportation costs ourselves, including the mayor, so that no city money is used for the trip (even though all the other cities in Arkansas usually pay for part or all of the expenses). The City of Moshi will cover all our expenses while they are our host. In turn, we will pick up their expenses when they visit Helena in October for our Blues Festival and other activities.

The Mayor of Moshi has offered to cover our expenses while in Moshi, including a 4-5 day Safari across some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. This is the Africa of  Hemingway's "Green Hills of Africa" and "Snows of Kilimanjaro". It is also the same area as "Out of Africa" and many other famous African stories. When you think of Africa, the images are probably of Tanzania, Kenya and the Serengeti.

I was recently delighted to learn another reason I must be drawn to Ernest Hemingway -- we have the same childhood heroes. One of them is, of course, Mark Twain. But the other one I was not aware we shared was Theodore Roosevelt, my favorite President.

President Roosevelt on His Famous Year Long Safari After Leaving Office in 1909

Hemingway was a child during Roosevelt's famous African Safari in the early 20th Century, and followed his exciting exploits in the newspapers.  He was drawn to this adventurous and exciting man and, as a result, wanted to become an adventurer in Africa when he grew up. So it was natural, then, that as a writer he was drawn to the Dark Continent. He jumped at the chance to go when his wife Pauline's Uncle Gus offered to pay their way. It was a life changing experience.

He went on just two trips to Africa in his life. but each were several months long. The first was in the 1930s, with Pauline, and was the source of many of his original Africa books and short stories. He went again in the 1950s, with fourth wife Mary. On this later trip he began a book he referred to as "my Africa book" and would later be published after his death by his son entitled "True at First Light", and recently a new edition entitled "Under Kilimanjaro."

Hemingway kept several unfinished works in his safe for publications later and always referred to them as "his life insurance policy" for his family after his death. They turned out to be just that. Interestingly, Hemingway almost "cashed in" these policies earlier that he had planned. He had not one, but two airplane crashes when he left his 1950s Africa safari. The second one did great harm to him but he survived. His wife Mary was unscathed from both. The news reported his death all over the world. His obituaries were glowing about his significant impact on American Literature. As Ernest recovered he was able to read his own obit, something his other hero -- Mark Twain -- had also been able to do, giving rise to the famous saying "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

Many think that it was the reaction the world had to his near death that caused the Noble Committee to award Ernest the Nobel Prize for literature just a few years later.

At any rate, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is by far his most celebrated story about Africa. I have included here a YouTube presentation that I think is probably the best 40 minutes you can spend to understand the importance of Africa to Hemingway as a man and as an artist. The person giving this presentation followed the path of Hemingway across the same areas several decades later, wrote a book and lectured about it, as you will see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY8A34XoUFQ

My son Drew and I are also planning to stay an extra week after the Helena party leaves, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, something for which I am now hastily preparing. In the meantime, having already read the Africa stories, I am reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls". I plan on re-reading his African stories and books after we leave Pamplona. More to come...