HI THERE!
WELCOME
TO
LINDA'S VIRTUAL
GOLDMINE!!!
It's me, Linda Signe Bennett.
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Perhaps it would be more interesting if I could say that I was born in a log cabin in the woods way back when...but I wasn't; the truth is, I was born in Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, way back when. Both my parents were from Norway; my father, Christian, was from Oslo; my mother, Agnes, was from a tiny place in North Norway called
"Hemnesberget". When I was just a little bundle of joy, we moved to North Hollywood (a
"suberb" of Los Angeles), California. After the end of WWII, we travelled to Norway to visit family and friends. I fell in love with the country then, as young as I was. We returned to America and lived in Van Nuys, California, where I graduated Van Nuys High School in June 1960. I later moved to West Hollywood/West Los Angeles, where I lived until 1985.
I'm the third and last child in my family, and the only girl. My two brothers, Kenneth and Norman, were my
heros...and they still are. I grew up in a typical Norwegian home, eating typical Norwegian food (including the dreaded "lutefisk" - lye-soaked codfish - my friends - and I - said,
"EWWWW!"), doing typically Norwegian things (such as speaking the language, celebrating
"syttende mai", or May 17th, Norway's Independence Day, and having cured meat hanging in our garage in preparation for Christmas. Friends said,
"EWWWW!"). I'm very grateful for my Norwegian heritage, though I still say
"EWWW" to lutefisk.
I grew up (sort of), got married, and had three children: Michael, Jeffrey and
Juli. I also have two stepchildren, Corey and Lauretta. I have two beautiful grandchildren.
I'm now an unattached and somewhat larger, older and wiser bundle of joy.
For the most part, my jobs consisted of various secretarial positions. I worked as a legal secretary and law office manager for attorneys in both Los Angeles and Beverly Hills from approximately 1970 until 1984.
My life took a drastic turn in the summer of 1985, at which time I came to Norway together with my daughter Juli. It was our intention to stay here for a year, visiting relatives and taking a little "R&R" from "Life in LA". And here I sit, all these years later, thriving in my home in Tromsø, North Norway, living on an island about 450 or so miles north of the Arctic Circle. Quite a change from Los Angeles, but it has only been for the positive. Juli is living in
Arcata, California, but hopes to return to Norway one day. Michael lives in Anaheim, California; Jeffrey in Poulsbo, Washington; Corey in Long Beach, California; and Lauretta in Mesa, Arizona.
I'm self-employed and work out of my home as a Norwegian/English translator and proofreader, specializing in technical manuals (especially for the maritime industry), tourism, aquaculture, polar research and electronic communications. I work out of my home, alone, and enjoy having a home office and being my own
bossette. The name of my company is
"The
Oversetter"; the blending of English and Norwegian tells the Norwegian people what I do:
"oversetter" means "translator" in Norwegian.
I'm an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints ("Mormons"), having been baptized here in Tromsø on Midsummer
Night's Eve (June 23rd) in 1992. I find it amazing that I had to travel this far
to meet two American missionaries, something I never did during my entire life
in Los Angeles. We have a small branch here, the second northernmost in the
world. It's a big part of my life, and is the best decision I ever made. I
highly recommend it to one and all.
- Studying and reading the Scriptures
- Genealogy. If you have Scandinavian heritage, check out the following Newsgroups:
"soc.genealogy.nordic"
"no.fritid.slektsforsking.etterlysing"
I highly recommend checking out Dan Evjen's and Otto Jørgensen's Genealogy Home Pages for links to lots of other genealogy sites, Norwegian and otherwise.
Or, you might just want to look at "alt.genealogy" for leads to other places.
Photography.
- Taking long drives while listening to great music
- Enjoying nature, walking in the woods, along the beach or in the mountains, sitting by rushing rivers, streams, waterfalls, listening to the sounds, watching the water, fishing
- Picking wild berries and making my own preserves
- Collecting, cutting and polishing rocks
- Swimming
- Travelling...I small Greek Islands, Wales , and would someday like to visit Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Alaska...and lots of other places. An
armchair-travelling dreamer, that's what I am...
- Music: Rock 'n Roll, Country/Western, Blues, Dixieland Jazz, Bluegrass, Classical, Swedish Dance Band music, Irish, Scottish...and more). Favorites: Elvis, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimmy
Buffett, Davey Spillane, Garth Brooks, Enya, Dance With A Stranger, Lasse
Stefanz, Roger Whittaker (HEY!!! ROG IS GREATLY UNDERRATED!!!)...and lots more.
- Comedy, indluding Monty Python, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Harold Lloyd,
That "Wild and Crazy Guy" - STEVE MARTIN!!!,
W.C. Fields, The Marx Brothers, Steven Wright, Jack Handy, and Emo Phillips...
- Watching TV: "Frasier", "Seinfeld",
"M.A.S.H.", "Cheers", "NYPD Blue", "Picket Fences", Ally
McBeal, "X-Files" , "Lonely Planet" (especially with darling Ian Wright!!!), nature programs, etc.
- Reading: "Jesus the Christ", "To Kill A Mockingbird", "Walden and Other Stories", "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Douglas Adams in general), P.G. Wodehouse, Bruce
R.McConkie, James E. Talmage, Jeffrey Archer, Garrison Keillor, Iris Murdoch, Luke
Rhinehart, Anne Tyler, Terry Pratchett, John Irving...
- Movies: Old musicals, the "classics" with Hepburn, Bacall, Tracy, Gable,
Cagney, Hayward, Hayworth, Bergman, Stewart, all Walt Disney films, "To Kill a Mockingbird", "It's A Wonderful Life", "Miracle on 32nd Street", just about anything with Chevy Chase, Kevin
Costner, Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan or Goldie Hawn in it. I'm a sucker for a great love story with a happy ending, and I've never quite outgrown cartoons.)
- Gourmet
cooking and baking. I love cooking for my friends and having them over for a cozy dinner with good food, fun and stimulating conversation.
- The Internet
- E-mail
- IRC ("Internet Relay Chat"). I have my own chat room, #GreenDoor® , accessible via
StarChat.Net®. For more information, "knock" here:
Ready to call it quits and return Home?
Wouldn't you rather check out my other pages?
To Wit: My Other Pages:
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
| MY GENEALOGY |
KNOWLEDGE & CULTURES |
SPIRITUALITY |
#GREENDOOR CHAT |
FUN, HUMOR & ENTERTAINMENT |
 |
 |
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|
 |
| FOOD & RECIPES |
FOR THE KIDS |
MY PHOTO ALBUM |
TROMSØ, NORWAY |
"THE OVERSETTER" |
Some friends' Home Pages:
Dave and Tami Jenson's Home Page. This is a fantastic genealogy source for those of you doing research in Troms County ("Troms fylke"), Norway.
Jan Bergtun's "Island Strolling in Greece" home page! If you love Greece, or WANT to love it, check this out!
Kjell Høyer's Home Page. Kjell is a MASTER geneologist (and a really nice guy, too!).
Odd Sørensen's Home Page. Great genealogy info and more!
Please feel free to drop me a line.
So long for now, and thanks for stopping by.
And please check out these sites:
UNICEEF
Greenpeace
Children Now
Amnesty International
United Way of America
American Family Association
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Though I personally find pornography and some other topics
that appear on many Web sites offensive, I am an advocate of Free Speech and
support The Blue Ribbon Campaign for Online Free Speech
Check out Cyber Patrol. This is a program that allows parents and teachers to control the display of some materials found on The Net. This is a much more viable solution than allowing governments to exercise such control over content.
I also recommend a visit to
The Green Ribbon Campaign for
Responsibility in Free Speech. While supporting the right to free speech in
all its forms, they also call for responsibility in exercising this right.
There are lots of great links to other Home Pages at this site.
"Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall
be called the children of God." Matt. 5:8
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This Site was last updated on 09 August 2000.