  For questions or comments, please email half.estonian[at]gmail.com halfestonian.com - Copyright © 2012 |
January 23-30, 2012. My grandfather, Jakob Suksdorf, was captain of many ships that crossed oceans and seas. But two crossings in particular concern me here. The first to ferry my mother's side of the family from Estonia to safety: Sweden. This was in September 1944, the Second World War. For the second crossing, Jakob transported his family, among 154 on board, across the Atlantic to Canada in 1949. The Russians hadn't budged from the Baltics. Estonian escapees in Sweden feared the Soviets' reach. My grandfather, the Captain, was born 100 years ago this year. He died before any of his grandchildren were born. But we were all close to our grandmother, Laine. Granny. I called her the G, lifting the nickname from a favourite cop show. (That's what the detectives called their lieutenant, Giardello.) This writing is for and about my grandparents. Sean Flinn |
