Tog Ericson has getting a lot of press here but today, in this edition of Character Confessions, I get to grill him about something that he might wish he never did.
Scott: Thanks for agreeing to meet with me Tog.
Tog: You’re welcome Scott. I know some of your Character Confessions articles have been a little confrontational but I trust you after reading the three posts I’ve already been featured in.
Scott: I’m glad you’re feeling comfortable speaking with me today. So which of the those was your favorite?
Tog: That’s easy…How to Do Those Things You Love. I really enjoyed giving people some tools to enjoy life. Though being one of the first characters introduced in Bluebell’s Top Ten was pretty cool too and giving me a chance to show my logical side in Interpret the Facts Carefully made me feel good.
Scott: Wow, if I didn’t know better Tog, I’d think I paid you to mention those articles to help promote interest in this blog. So “Bluebell” takes place in and around Drewsport, but that wasn’t always home to you, right?
Tog: I guess you’ve done your homework Scott. Shortly after Christine and I married, we left Sweden to join others from our homeland that had settled in Wisconsin. For several years I worked for my uncle on a large dairy farm. Continuing in the frugal, hard working tradition of our families, we soon had our own small farm.
Scott: But something else happened during those first years in America. Can you tell me about it?
Tog: We “attempted several times to bring an heir into the world, but each pregnancy ended disastrously” for our child. “Following two such incidents, in which Christine nearly lost her life; the doctor” advised us to avoid future attempts.
Scott: Oops…my journalistic talents must be slipping. I just realized that Drewsport isn’t in Wisconsin, so what prompted leaving your new home and heading here?
Tog: “With the realization that she would be unable to bear children, Christine was beset by periods of deep depression. This seemed to greatly aggravate what had been only a minor bronchial condition. After consulting numerous doctors, it was decided that Wisconsin winters offered little opportunity for improvement.” So, overriding Christine’s adamant objections, I sent her to live with my uncle, “leased the farm to a young couple newly arrived from Sweden, and went in search of a place wherein to start anew.”
Scott: So you left family and the home you’d built and went searching for another place to live. How did you determine where to look?
Tog: “With the aid of the U. S. Weather Bureau,” I “chose an area, west of the Mississippi River, which promised temperatures and humidity readings closest to those the doctors had recommended.”
Scott: I love that you cared so much for her that you’d give up what you’d created in Wisconsin. How did Drewsport become your destination?
Tog: The final decision came down to topography. “The low wooded hills offered the only break” I “had seen in the otherwise, rather barren landscape. Not being a particularly prosperous part of America,” I “was able to purchase two adjoining sections of choice land at a very depressed price…erected a fine house near the small stream that wandered amiably through the property, and went east to bring Christine to her new home.”
Scott: And then, after all that, you had the terrible experience of being with your God children when you discovered their mom had been beaten. I guess after all that’s happened, you and Christine probably wish you’d never left Sweeden?
Tog: Actually Scott, it’s just the opposite. Moving here, we met Doc Ferguson and without him, Christine might never have gotten the medical help she needed. And how we came to be God parents is a story that almost seems too good to be true. We love our home.
Scott: And it sounds like you’ve just made a pretty successful pitch for a follow-up interview. I’ve got a lot of other characters to talk with Tog, but if time allows, I think we just might speak again.
Tog: Works for me. “Bluebell” is a pretty long book and I’m not going anyplace soon.
Well readers, Tog is my 4th Character Confession post but there are lots of characters in “Bluebell” so don’t be surprised when you see the 5th edition soon. And speaking of what’s to follow, here are a few ideas…
- Get 3 of dad’s Short Stories FREE – Read How Here!
- Bone Up on All Things Bluebell
- Find Your Favorite Topic on this Blog