Olaf (Meaning: Ancestral Heritage)

Hello!

Before I begin, I have an announcement. I've moved my site to another platform, and you can read my new posts there.

Here's where you can read the rest of my work: https://3mmovieproductions.wixsite.com/maximiliangreatest/blog

New platforms aside, I am going to write about a man who discovered a mystery right here in my current hometown. As always, his name has just about everything to do with his life. Olaf Opsjon (Meaning; Ancestral Heritage of Rich Favor) was a professor that lived in Spokane Washington, who made a controversial discovery on a boulder of lava sitting at the base of rock cliffs. People drive by the boulders today, unaware of the secrets they hide. What was this secret? Well, according to Olaf, Viking Runes.

Yes, as strange as it is, the professor believed that ancient Vikings had come to Spokane in the year 1010 A.D, and left a message telling of a terrible battle.  There had been a band of 24 men, and seven woman, and one babe. They found a spring under the boulder and were so thirsty they drunk it dry. Indians came along looking for the water, and finding it dry, attacked the Norsemen. They put the women atop the boulder and defended them, but lost miserably. The men were forced to retreat, leaving the women to the Indians. When the Norsemen returned, they numbered only 12. The women and child were among the dead, bringing the tragic total to 14, with the six other women taken by Indians. The survivors of the attack buried their dead at the head of the boulder, and continued on.

This may be a lot to believe, but for me it's an interesting mystery, especially since I'm a descendent of Vikings. I'm doing a lot of digging into this and the boulder found by Professor Opsjon (Meaning; Rich Favor) was not the only instance of these Vikings here in Washington. Boulders on the Columbia river in Grant County tell of the final hours of 8 of the men that we met in Spokane. They died, pinned down by Indians still out for revenge, on those cliffs, and Indian legend tells of "invaders" that they defeated, men with blue eyes and blond hair. They left their ships to rot away where they had landed. An Indian back when the Professor found the rocks said that his grandfather had been known to have blond hair, proof of contact with the Norse. And this is only what I have found out so far! I'm still digging, looking for the rock itself and anything I can find out about this story. The professor actually excavated the mound, and found an arrowhead and bone fragments. It's getting more and more interesting the longer I look into it.

Now for the Professor's story, and why his name is so interesting for me. The Professor came to America from Sweden, homeland of the Vikings. He was at the time considered an expert on Runes, the alphabet of Vikings. Therefore, living in America, he was contacted with many strange requests. There is a treasure trove of Runes scattered across America, and Olaf took an interest in these stones. While we know the Vikings made it to Canada, it is not widely known there is so much evidence to show they explored the United States, and seemed to have plans of colonization. Most Runestones found in America seem to be land claims. This is what the Professor faced when he investigated these stones, and attempted to translate them. And he embraced it. He challenged the scholars of the day to come see for themselves the Runestone of Spokane. He embraced his heritage. And that is what his name means. Never before has a name reflected a mans life more so than Olaf Opsjon (Meaning; Ancestral Heritage of Rich Favor.) He came from the homeland of Vikings and found the motherload of proof Vikings were here. If this story could be authenticated today, it could prove Vikings were here long before Columbus (Meaning; Dove.) If one could find the artifacts Professor Opsjon took from the burial mound, and test them, there is a possibility it could show they came from the land of Vikings. This could change history as we know it. But of course the bones are long gone. I'm working to find them, but the fact is there might not be a way. That's the thing about mysteries. They might never be solved. You just have to hope, and dig until you hit bedrock, so to speak.

This story and name are amazing to me. Olaf has such a great meaning, and it correlates with this mans life so well, it stuns me. Then there are the names that aren't there. The name of the child that died that day. His mother's name. The names of the men who fell in battle, and the names of the men who killed them. The eight names that died on the shores of the Columbia River, and the name of the blond Indian. So many names got lost in this story. So many ended. That's the saddest thing in the world. The Vikings did get what they deserved. They took the source of water from a tribe. They were Vikings, men of pillage and plunder. But as always, everything must end. They were defeated, and their ships left to rot. The way this world works is sad.

Do you have mystery hiding in your hometown? What is the name associated with that? How does your name pertain to your life? Is your name Olaf? What does your name mean to you? Tell me, and we will celebrate the adventure. Celebrate you, and your meaning.

Until another mystery crops up!

Maximilian (Meaning; Greatest in a Multitude)