ALT FOR NORGE

Alt for Norge is a reality television show filmed in Norway for Norwegian
Television. At this time it is not broadcast in the US. A few months earlier,
they put out a call for auditions which I ran across on the internet totally by
accident while searching for Norwegian topics of interest. However, I was not
eligible to audition. The show takes Norwegian Americans back to Norway to find
out where their grandparents and great grandparents immigrated from and to see
if they still have any relatives who are still alive. Unfortunately as far as
the show is concerned, even though I am a first generation Norwegian American,
I do not meet their qualifications since I already know where my Norwegian
relatives live and have met them numerous times. I think this actually makes me
very fortunate, even though I would’ve loved to have been able to try out for
the show. So after reading about it online I didn’t give it another thought.
Then one Sunday in April after church, we decided to try out a new restaurant
for breakfast. It is a small restaurant in Savage, Windmill Cafe
catering to the locals. A friend of mine from work frequents Windmill Cafe
and recommended it highly. It was quaint and the breakfast was delicious so we
took our time eating and reading the Sunday newspaper. As we were getting ready
to leave, a large group of people came in followed by a camera crew who set up
to interview them. On our way to the door, I stopped and asked one of the women
what the interviewing was all about. She graciously informed me her husband was
chosen to be on a reality show about Norwegian ancestry that would be aired in
Norway. I knew before the words came out of her mouth that we just happened to
be, totally by accident, where they were filming one of the contestants for
Alt for Norge. Her husband was a trucker and this little quaint restaurant
provided a great filming location for parking his semi-truck and interviewing
him along with his friends at a place he frequently ate lunch. During a break
in the filming action, I introduced myself to the show’s producer and seized
the opportunity to give him a copy of my book, Real Norwegians Eat Lutefisk.
He was surprised to see it was in Norwegian and graciously took the book. That
copy may be the first one to end up in Norway! The co-producer advised me to
audition for the show next year, but I regretfully informed her I already knew
my relatives living in Norway and had traveled there numerous times. We stayed
a little longer to watch the Alt for Norge camera crew film the lucky
Norwegian American trucker as he chatted with his friends while seated at a
table.

Ultimately, this totally unplanned stop ended
up being one of those times when I happened to be in the right place at the
right time and only through sheer coincidence. Or maybe it was by accident?  Or maybe an act of God?

All I know is I am very thankful I chose to
attend church that Sunday in April and decided to have breakfast at Windmill
Café!