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 44Chapter Five -- Mildred1000 Hours: Thursday June 10, 1993: Gate 26 Red Concourse, Minneapolis St. PaulInternational Airport"May I help you?""Yes, ma'am. I'm on Flight 504 to New York's La Guardia Airport. Can I get anaisle seat?" said the tall blond boy dressed in Levi jeans, a white sweat shirt with the St.Olaf College crest in royal blue on the front, and Puma running shoes. "Do we get lunchon this flight?""You bet. How about Seat 16C? We'll be boarding in about ten minutes."Behind Eric Johanson, a line of people was waiting patiently for their turn to getseats on Flight 504. About three people back from Eric stood a thin woman dressed in anavy blue business suit with a white silk blouse and red bow tie.The black-haired woman was attractive, looked as if she were in her early thirties,and seemed bored by the routine of boarding the Northwest Airlines flight. She had themost beautiful blue eyes, something that Eric had noted earlier while waiting for the gateagents to open up shop. He also remembered the scent of lavender when she walked past.It was the same scent that his favorite aunt used.Boy, he thought, if the older women in New York look that good, I wonder howgirls my age will look.
 
 45A loud metallic voice rumbled through the din at the gate. "Attention, NorthwestFlight 504 to New York's La Guardia Airport will be ready for general boarding in a fewminutes. We would like to pre-board any families traveling with children, childrentraveling alone and anyone else who needs some extra time in boarding. As usual, weinvite our first-class passengers and our Gold and Preferred Card Worldperks members toboard at their leisure.""Flight 504 is now available for general boarding."Handing his boarding pass to the gate agent, Eric started down the metalpassageway to the Boeing 727-200 jetliner and was met at the doorway by a pert blondflight attendant who looked at his boarding card and waved him toward the rear of theaircraft with a smile.Waiting for the crowd before him to find their seats, Eric soaked in the ambiance of the first class cabin. The familiar noise and smell of coffee percolating in the galley wereintoxicating to the haggard passengers lining up to take their seats. The mostly middle-aged, white male passengers sitting in the spacious first-class seats were already absorbedin their reading material and pre-flight beverages.Eric looked forward to being an analyst at Franklin Smedley & Associates. He wassure they flew everywhere first-class.Finally, the logjam freed up as the passengers before him found their seats and Ericwas able to reach seat 16C. As he approached his seat, he noted that the attractive black haired woman with the startlingly beautiful blue eyes was seated in 19D, she was alreadybusy reading a magazine and didn't look up as other passengers passed by.Eric looked over his row and smiled at his row mate. In 16A sat a spinsterish olderwoman who had already started her knitting project. Her white hair was pulled tightly in a
 
 46bun. Mildred Swensen was traveling to New York on her way to Oslo, Norway, to shopfor her Scandinavian craft shop in Crookston, Minnesota.She was dressed like every Norwegian aunt or grandmother Eric had ever known.Mildred wore a pale yellow silk print dress with a high collar and a light blue summerblazer. She carried the unmistakable scent of lilac. A cameo pin adorned her blazer.Large silver bangles hung from her left wrist. She carried her purse but also carried a largestraw bag from which knitting needles of various sizes and yarn protruded. She wasworking on a knitting project, quite absorbed in her task. From the looks of it, the projectwas going to be a sweater, probably a Christmas gift for a grandchild.Eric knew how efficient these Scandinavian grandmothers could be, for example,knitting Christmas sweaters in June. If the visit was at Christmas time, the menu wasalways the same: fruit soup, boiled potatoes, lutefisk, Swedish meatballs, lefse, and, if you're lucky, Johnson's temptation, a mixture of scalloped potatoes, onions, and anchovies.The smell of freshly baked cookies, evergreen branches, the smoky fire, Yule kaka, sprits,and thumbprint cookies made up for the annual ordeal of lutefisk.Lutefisk starts life swimming in the North Atlantic as cod. When caught, the cod isdried and salted. To prepare lutefisk, the dried and pungent cod is soaked in caustic sodafor several months. The soaking revivifies the flesh of the dried fish. When boiled orbaked and served with white sauce, lutefisk becomes a tender, flaky seafood delicacy.Norwegian aficionados of lutefisk compare it to lobster.Detractors compared it to death.Comedians have said that the best recipe for lutefisk is to soak the fish, then drain itfor two hours on a wood cutting board, and, when drained, throw away the fish and eat thecutting board.
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