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THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE AND THE MOTTOS OF ANNA-LIISA What about the philosophy of life then? The many years (Anna-Liisa 13 and Heikki 15 years) in Africa have drastically changed our attitude towards many questions in Finland and have strengthened understanding of the saying “small is beautiful”. There are many ways of classifying us human beings and one is the following including three different levels as follows:
My choice is the last mentioned level. I am very thankful
for so many things in my life – for good or for not so
easy ones – and that is why I would like to give something
back. The main good thing in my life has been the possibility
to get education which was not so easy and common in the 1940s
for a girl coming from a workers´class family. Thanks
go to my mother who insisted me going to secondary and thereafter
I had more ways to get myself a profession – and of course
new thoughts and ideas for the life. My mother sold her “coffee
coupons” (regulation of food and clothes) so that I could
pay my school fees – the secondary that time in Finland
was not paid by the tax money. In Hämeenlinna in the 1990´s – after being
back for good from Africa – I was asked to join the activities
of the Green League and I was one of the nominees for city council
of Hämeenlinna with a result of round 100 votes! It meant
that I was not elected but I assume that one part of my possible
votes went for Martines Lopez from West-Africa and he was elected.
It meant that in the Hämeenlinna city council there was
one strong intercessor for questions related to the foreigners
and immigrants from abroad. Today I am only reading the Magazine
of the Finnish Greens.
Do I have any hobbies? Besides little reading and my volontary work? Working on the compound, establishing a kitchen garden and trying to put all my old papers in to the respective folders. Why this? Maybe in one day I could start writing my life, all its turns into my memoir? On the condition of course, that I still have some years ahead!
During my school time I was not an easy going student and especially in my late Primary years and even in Secondary I was among those who were doing a lot of mischief which the youngsters that time had to organize in order to get some excitement to the days – that time we did not have any money for any extra programmes – it was a must to use your own imagination and be inventive. My childhood surrounding was the junction of Haapamäki railway station and it gave us boys many possibilities to use our imagination a lot. We as scouts had wilderness travellers´ knowledge which made us able to search for interesting – sometimes even nearly impossible looking – matters on the railway station area. We e.g. found strings of Russian parachutes which were moulded for strings of Jojo-wheels, those toys all children in 1940´s in Finland knew well. Women in the village were very happy to have silk material for their blouses - that material also came from parachutes. We even tried to get the wing machine gun of a Jak-fighter to work but we failed ! Maybe our knowledge of the machines was not enough or we did not have any idea of the importance of electronic devices while discharging the gun! We were also able to earn a little bit cash – having cash that time was something special for a child! – by selling those lead seals, “blomms” – in the junction they were used for locking the railway wagons but our customers, hunters, needed them as raw material for shots in their rifles. Being enterprising as well as aiming to the future became a habit for us boys. We also learned how to seal our lips – we did not tattle about our matters! I am of the opinion that this habit of carrying things upon
my own initiative helped me later in the life – aot I
assembled a couple of motor bikes of different separate parts
and after selling those bikes I was able to buy a real vehicle
for my own use. On the other hand it was clear that these my
hobbies had an impact on my studies – the homework was
not done and it could be seen in the results and marks. However,
I was able to pass my Secondary Graduation tests while serving
in the Finnish Army in Mikkeli – for this thanks go to
Anna-Liisa who was already that time my married wife. For choosing
engineering as my education I owe many thanks to Mr Kai Hirvonen
who worked as foreman in the firm of Keuruun Auto, Keuruu town
in Middle-Finland: he was the person who prompted and supported
me in many different ways by bringing me information of the
previous tests in the Technical Institute of Helsinki and also
reminding me regularly of the importance of further education
in the life. I had to borrow money for my studies – that
time we did not have the government financial support which
is available today for students – we were a family with
our son Jukka and Anna-Liisa had also started her studies in
the Helsinki School of Economics in capital of Finland. There
we were with very little money and every September we had to
find an apartment where to stay until end of the semester –
the rent for 8-9 months we had to pay cash when moving in. I
earned extra money as a lorry driver (heating oil in the night
time to the near surrounding of Helsinki), during weekends I
drove taxi in the city and I also translated service books etc
for the Finnish car importers – all the earnings were
very much needed for the livelihood of our small family. During those years I learned the following guidelines which have became my code of maxim:
To the first code above I would still add that you should not re-do anything which somebody has already done, i.e. there are means like libraries and internet which can give you useful information that can be basis for your inventions and thus help you. A good example here is the Japanese industry and its rise to the leading position after the defeat and recession during the Second World War. The Japanese people learned from what others had already done. To clarify the second code above I give the following practical example: when you lift a beam by grasping it in the middle of the trunk you need double that much power as you lift it by turns from both ends. This rule I have put into practise when I lifted the ridge, 8 m long, consisting of 3 logs, to its place without mechanical help, alone by myself. At the moment it stands there carrying safely the rafters. What experience do I have of the Murphy´s Law? You might have planned your work or activity in such a way that it should turn out successfully – but there will be a failure! The reason in most cases is that you have neglected some minor detail in your plans. However, we are all human beings and you overlooked something important, maybe! And last but not least, if you want to stress the smallest detail and insist on going through all the minor questions when doing something you are making a real mistake: you have to follow the rules and instructions but do not be too accurate. There is a nice saying about this failure – a big country/question – therefore also big tolerances. In most cases using humour will help you to succeed. The above code of maxim maybe has helped me to keep my hair
and its dark colour – though I am a retired person!
The most important hobby is the pop music. My family members and neighbours might be annoyed by my music making because among my instruments is also a noisy tenor saxophone. I bought it while working in Libya in the years 1980-1983. Earlier I had played only stringed instruments like guitar, banjo and mandolin. When staying in Tanzania in the years 1990-1993 I was a member of a jazz band “Chalinze Stompers” the most members being foreigners, mainly from Scandinavia. I used to be the solo singer in rehearsals and during breaks in our performances. I am also interested in the old records, i.e. gramophone records. I have in my possession two portable gramophones: the Swedish “Sonora” and the British “His Masters Voice” which have brought many questions from our grandchildren like: “no electricity” and “no loudspeaker” and is working without them – how come? I am an eager visitor of second hand shops and car boot sales from where I have found some rarities like the “Autumn Leaves/Les feuilles mortes” by Joseph Kosma in Russian language, the original record “Rock around the clock” by Bill Haley and the “Flottarkärlek” (logger love) sung by Delta Rhythm Boys in Swedish. In summer 2005 I had just started to work with the car in Harviala, Janakkala, near the Hämeenlinna town and the car was standing in the yard where Mr Stuart Koehler, a former chief forester of Harviala Mansion, saw it when passing by and identified the car: he said that it brings into his mind sentimental longing for memories from times of his young years – still a bachelor! Further he gave me the information that he had been many times travelling with the car together with Mr Seppo Pihla, the son of Lauri Pihla – the aim was to attract beautiful young girls with the car! That afternoon we had a nice chat together – he going back into his memories and me making some fantasies for the future. How did I get to find the car? It was through Mr Risto Pihla, the son of Seppo Pihla – my son Jukka knew Risto Pihla and this was the way to get into contact with the old, nostalgic car. From these lines you get the idea about the interesting history of the car. I have started to write down my experiences from all the different
projects I have been working in – the name of the book
will be “A project Worker´s Manual”. I still
have diaries from my working years and those will be the “real”
basis for the writing. Thus I might remember different problems
and maybe also some successes, if any!
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