A Canadian flag covers the entire garage door in Bodø. An LP player spins Johnny Cash’s rough voice: “And it burns, burns, burns”. Under a saloon sign sits Thomas Coe, the father of five. – Enjoy the moment. Life is too fragile. Outside the garage is the red bubble. Since 2018, Thomas has used it to collect money for sick children. The choice of car is inspired by another bodo experience; Pelle Police car. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news Got a sore throat Thomas opens the garage door. The Canadian flag becomes the ceiling. He brushes dust and cobwebs off the red bubble. – There is a lot of rust, but it starts every time, he says and laughs. Then he becomes serious: – Children who get sick, that must be the worst thing parents can experience. The gratitude that we have healthy children, as well as my enthusiasm for Christmas, I want to use to help others. – Since 2018, you have spent Christmas collecting money for the children’s cancer association. Have you had cancer close to you? – No, I don’t really have that, Thomas replies. Thomas has spent a lot of time in recent years helping other families. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news As every year, Thomas takes a Christmas holiday after money for the children’s cancer association has been collected. But with five children in the house, it’s never completely quiet: – It hurt my throat when the children hung around my neck. Like many men, I thought it was nothing. The wife did not agree. She gets him to the doctor. The man who has always helped others suddenly needed help himself. Missing a father Thomas tips his cowboy hat backwards. A sip of coffee. Put your feet on a pouf. – I can hardly believe how good it turned out, he says and looks out over the large garage. Why on earth does a family man in Bodø have such a strong desire for a garage inspired by North America? It is no coincidence that Thomas’ mancave looks like a “saloon”. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – Dad and the entire father’s side are from Canada. Mum and he got married and lived there until I was seven. But then the mother moved home to Norway. Seven-year-old Thomas joined. The longing for a father figure came quickly. After 10 years, in 1998, it had become too big. Without calling, he got on a plane across the Atlantic. An hour before arrival, the mother called the father to tell them. – I was 17 years old. It was easier to travel than to take it on the phone. I’m happy about that, recalls Thomas and adds that it became one of his best memories. The picture from 1998, with “dad” and “grandpa”, dressed as cowboys, has of course found a place in the mancave. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – To be able to give him a hug. Dry some tears, get in the car and drive across the Canadian countryside with Johnny Cash on the radio. It was very special. – Do you remember what song it was? – Oi, difficult question. It was Johnny Cash at least, and some Shania Twain, Thomas answers before laughing. The same feeling at home in Norway At home with my father, the memories became strong. He recognized the house. The workshop. The atmosphere. – But distance is something “shit”, says Thomas and adds: – I had to achieve something of the same here at home. The inspiration for the mancave came already then, during that trip. – Welcome! Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news Afterwards the years passed quickly. Thomas gets a garage built, and collects a lot of scrap, but never turns it into a man cave. Everyday life with five children takes a toll on time; eats it up. Then he gets a stable tip; The news program Mancave is looking for participants. He gets a pacifier. Now it’s Thomas’ turn to get help. Just before Christmas last year, both renovation and recording took place. – Dad was incredibly happy that I was going to get the garage I’ve been dreaming of, says Coe. The dramatic phone call from the doctor brought Thomas closer to his father on the other side of the world. Thomas dreams of awakening his inner cowboy with his own saloon, but has drowned in collecting mania and the role of father. Maybe it’s the yeast baking. Fortunately, this is not a story about a father of five who has to say goodbye. The lump in my throat turned out to be two different types of cancer. In May, he underwent surgery in Tromsø, and with the anesthetic on his way out of his body, he picked up the phone: Thomas wakes up from anesthesia and tells the world that he is cancer-free. Due to health reasons, the father has not visited Norway in the last ten years. Thomas never thought that his father would get to experience the mancave. But then he was diagnosed with cancer. The father changed his mind. Thomas was operated on in May last year, and is now cancer-free. – You care less that the children have thrown a sack in the hallway, so to speak. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news This spring both he and Thomas’s uncle came to visit Bodø. – We had a cold one out here together, says Thomas and smiles. Now it is approaching Christmas again. – Are you going to have another year of Christmas bubbles? – It gives me an incredible amount. And when I was ill, so many people stood up for me. 70 people had built a shed for me when I came home after the operation, he says and adds: – It is so incredibly warm to see that there is so much good in people. – But you do a lot for others, so that might have something to do with it? – I have baked quite a few buns for people. It could be the yeast baking that does it. Thomas Coe was visited this spring by both his father (right) and his uncle. Photo: Private Published 31.10.2024, at 23.22
ttn-69
Got cancer in the middle of the recording of Mancave on news – news Nordland
