On the day we spoke, Dave Helgi Johan was wearing a Gimli shirt – one of the familiar designs seen around the Interlake, printed with the vegvísir, the Icelandic wayfinding symbol. It was one of those small details that quietly explains a lot. Even on the other side of the world, New Iceland has a way of showing up in the everyday: on clothing, in names, in the music people keep, and in the stories that get told and retold around kitchen tables and cabin decks...

After the funeral of Baldur, Freyr went to console Odin in his hall, Valaskjalf. He was surprised because no one was around. He was about to turn around and leave when his eyes fell on Hlidskjalf, Odin’s special chair. Sitting in the chair would allow him to see into all the other realms. Freyr’s curiosity was suddenly set aflame and before his better judgement settled him, he was sitting in the high seat of Odin. All were forbidden to sit in Odin’s chair other than Odin and Frigg...

I try not to give into doom thinking. I’m not by nature a doomer. I believe in being positive and finding the positive in life. That has let me navigate a strange but rewarding life. I’m not rich but when I turn in returnables at the bottle depot, I can send the money I get for them to Our Place. That’s why they get some strange amounts and why it is so irregular. I know, because of having been a writer and a teacher, a poverty-stricken student, how hard life can be...