Received the below e-mail, prompted by my Norwegian journal, and thought it touching — you might too:

I knew an old guy who, in his youth, had joined the Norwegian air force to fight against Hitler. Many years later, he flew the king of Norway, Olav, around Minnesota and North Dakota, visiting various Sons of Norway groups. He described to me how, often, they would be met at little airfields by portly guys playing the Norwegian national anthem, and the king would step off the plane and tears would come to his eyes, and the portly guys would tear up too, even as they played on.

Speaking of North Dakota, I write in my journal today of seeing a Lincoln monument in Oslo’s Vigeland Park. A plaque says, Presented to the People of Norway by the People of North Dakota, U.S.A., July 4th, 1914.