Most societies have quirks. In Uganda, everything moves at a snail’s pace, so the easiest task can take days on end. Recently it took me 3 months to dry clean a hat.

In Thailand, people will tell you anything that will keep you feeling happy, even if it’s not true at all. Klenjaing someone  may express itself as refusing help or faking happiness to avoid  “losing face” or causing someone else to lose face.

And in Japan, everything can appear as one big quirk. Especially dating dolls, or not particularly enthused about sex.

Denmark’s many quirks did not amaze me.

Ok, mothers put kids outside to sleep in the winter (unsupervised in strollers) because it is healthy. At the royal palace, there are almost no policemen. Toilets often have music playing and are beautifully  “designed to calm”. One can ride the train without a turnstile on either end. And everything works well+.

All this is fascinating but it is not what amazed me.

What did and still does rattle me is how much deep thought was unleashed by my trip to Denmark .

My mind has been overwhelmed with questions since I returned home vis a vis the question “what makes Denmark such a success?”

1. What is the role of wealth vrs homogeneity in the establishment and maintaining  of a successful and flourishing society? (Denmark is a very homogenous society. Ethnic Danes make up about 86 +% of the population of Denmark. There are approximately another 15.5  thousand Norwegians as well as  15 thousand Swedes. Immigration is severely restricted.)
2. What has gone wrong in so many countries whereby  people no longer trust their government? (Danes trust their government)
3. In order to drive compromise between polarities, what needs to change? Could it be that in too diverse a society, this is impossible? (Danes share a consciousness of kind which means that compromise which will hold us together)
4. Does being left of centre mean being tolerant of every excess? Does being right of centre mean you lean towards fascism? Maybe left and right mean nothing anymore. (In Denmark, everyone is left of centre, and a bit right of centre)
5. What can societies do to remain human and highly digitalized at the same time? (Denmark is both)

In many ways, Denmark is a miracle;  a veritable  pearl of a country.

What have they done right (or who are they) so as to differentiate themselves from a world which is slowly descending into a pit of horrendous dysfunction? THAT is something to think about.

One cannot come away from Denmark without thinking that many basic assumptions we have about society and politics need serious re-examination.

The Danes (1) are, or (2) are doing, something very very much better than all of us. Maybe one, maybe both.

+ Almost everything. The signage in the Copenhagen Metro is very confusing, and we headed in the wrong direction several times. The ticket machines for the metro are frustrating to say the least. We often just gave up, travelled gratis and prepared our excuses.

In 2009, I passed by a pet shop, saw him in the window, and came out with shop with him in my arms. No planning was involved. Love at first sight it was. Pure infatuation.

George lived the “life of Riley”. He got many chunks of food from the table directly from my plate in addition to his first class dog food. He also ate the best of treats.

We had many long walks on the beaches of Eilat and Tel Aviv. He got his own beach chair in which he lounged, switching from time to time to in his chair, under his chair, or on my stomach. At the beach in Eilat, they knew me and offered me two chairs, “one for George”, when I arrived.

When he was younger, he would join me on my 10 km runs. We played Frisbee for hours and when a Frisbee got caught in a tree, we immediately got a brand new one, returning to play the next day. He got us into trouble several times. On one of his walks with me on the beach in Herzelia, he swallowed a fishing hook, which had to be extricated in an operation that afternoon. George and another dog once traded snarls and George’s opponent took a mighty piece out of my leg which took 2 months to heal. And to boot, George went head to head with a local canine bully, and lost! Several stiches and panic galore.

George was the very best of friends and my love for him will always be abounding. We spent 16 years and 4 months together. The time I spent with George was a welcome exhilarating topping to my life.

The last few months George was not himself. He developed canine dementia, sore legs, poor eyesight if any, no hearing, and had trouble standing up.

Georgie, I am so sorry I did not act earlier. The biggest gap is not between life and death, but life and a good life.

George led a very long and happy life.

I held him in my arms, and said, “toda yeled”…thank you boy.

Then Dr Yuval did what he had to do-and now I need to forget his last moments so that the memory of our loving friendship  will be with me as long as I am around.

On the poem by Lord Byron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So,_we%27ll_go_no_more_a_roving