Download Free Sample
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Only Trees Need Roots Only Trees Need Roots As told by J.H.Jessen & Written by Jennifer M. Jessen © 2009 by J.H. Jessen & Jennifer M. Jessen All rights reserved. First edition 2009. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, from the publisher. Eloquent Books An imprint of Writers Literary & Publishing Services, Inc. 845 Third Avenue, 6th Floor–6016 New York, NY 10022 http://www.eloquentbooks.com ISBN: 978-1-60976-535-4 Book Design by Julius Kiskis Printed in the United States of America 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5 Dedication For our sons John Nick and Mark and dedicated to Hans Michael Jebsen without whose advice and encouragement this book would never have been written. “Quels livres valent la peine d’etre écrits hormis les Mémoires?” Andre Malraux Timeline by Date and Chapter Prologue.................... .............................................................................................................................xi Acknowledgments................... .........................................................................................................xv 1. 1931 I Am Born Nov.24th. Hong Kong .................................................................................1 2. 1935/36 Japanese Holidays ....................................................................................................... 5 3.-5. 1937 Switzerland, Denmark, Hong Kong ........................................................................8 6. 1938 Denmark .............................................................................................................................16 7. 1939 Outbreak of WW2-Clarens, Switzerland ..................................................................20 8. 1940/41 Clarens ..........................................................................................................................23 9.-10. 1941 Trans Siberian Express .............................................................................................28 11.-13. 1941 Dairen–Tientsin Maru–Shanghai .......................................................................45 14.-15. 1941 Unzen, Japan–Shanghai (‘41/’46)........................................................................57 16.-17. 1942 Japanese Occupation. ..............................................................................................64 18.-19. 1943 Peking–Pei-ta-ho ........................................................................................................87 20.-21. 1944 My Father Dies..........................................................................................................95 22.-27. 1944 Danish Consulate–U.S to the Rescue Dino-Boxing.....................................111 28.-32. 1945 Concubines–Last Days of Japanese Occupation– Celestial Pleasures..................................................................................................................................128 33.-34. 1946 SS Strathmore–England ....................................................................................... 154 35. 1946 Denmark. ........................................................................................................................170 36.-37. 1947 Clarens–Lyceeum Alpinum. ..............................................................................176 38. 1948 Institut auf dem Rosenberg ....................................................................................186 39. 1950 Hamburg, Rabbow & Co. Mother to Dominican Republic..............................190 40-44. 1952 Dominican Holiday & Haiti ..............................................................................197 45. 1953 Danish Navy (Jan) ........................................................................................................218 46. 1954 Copenhagen A.P. Moller (Dec) ................................................................................224 viii Contents 47. 1956 Hong Kong, Jebsen & Jessen (May) ......................................................................226 48. 1958 Dominican Republic .................................................................................................233 49. 1958/59 Ciudad Trujillo, Grisolia .................................................................................... 236 50. 1960 A New Beginning—Jennifer .....................................................................................245 51. 1961 Danfoss–John Born Sept.24th ................................................................................249 52.-53. 1962 Geneva IOS–Mexico–Argentina ..................................................................... 252 54. 1963 Buenos Aires, Nicholas Born Aug.2nd... .............................................................259 55.-61. 1964 Peru (64/66) & Bolivia–Paraguay–Cajamarca–Ecuador–Chile..............263 62. 1965 Guadeloupe .................................................................................................................. 285 63.-66. Geneva—New York—Brazil...... .................................................................................... 287 67.-70. Escape—Geneva—Central and South America—Beirut .....................................305 71. 1968 Gex, France–Mark Born April 17th. ......................................................................324 72. 11969 Conches, Geneva .......................................................................................................331 73. 1970 The Fall of IOS..............................................................................................................335 74. 1971 Spain .................................................................................................................................341 75. 1981 Bavaria–Middle East–California ............................................................................347 76. 1985 Venezuela.. ..................................................................................................................... 349 77. 1987 Florida ..............................................................................................................................353 78. 1988 Boston, Liberty Financial .........................................................................................355 79.-80. 1992 Brussels (Liberty to 1998) ..................................................................................359 1995 Nick Married Silvana in London 1997 Nick Died 1999 John Married Karen in New York 2000 Sophie Born Oct. 20th 2002 Mark Married Gitte in Denmark 2002 Oliver Born Nov. 22nd. Contents ix 2003 Emma Born June 26th 2005 Sebastian Born June 7th 2005 Antonio Born Nov. 3rd 2006 Jennifer and I Moved to Spain 2008 Millie Born Jan. 23rd 2008 Epilogue & Jennifer´s Coda ............................................................................................371 Prologue Nov. 24, 1931, was another beautiful morning in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. A gentle easterly breeze from the South China Sea swept the last few clouds from the islands of Victoria, Lantau, and the Kowloon Peninsula, herding them over the green hills of the New Territories towards the high mountains of Mainland China. High up on the peak, Hong Kong’s most prominent landmark, on the terrace of the villa Kik-Ud, stood a blond, blue-eyed man in a cotton kimono. He gazed down to the piers of Kowloon, where large, white liners were docked. In the harbour itself, freighters from all over the world were moored, British and American warships were anchored, and ferries criss-crossed the bay between Hong Kong island and Kowloon. A confusion of junks, motor boats and private yachts together with dozens of the noisy little walla-walla water taxis added colour to the scene. Johan H. Jessen reached for his fi eld glasses and adjusted the sights. Far in the distance a plume of smoke rose from a black-and-white China coastal freighter followed, a few seconds later by the blast of the ship’s horn. It was the Gustav Diederichsen, one of his family’s company ships, carrying almost 3,000 tons of tea, silks, hogbellies, human hair, dried eggs, and spices from the ports of Shanghai and Foochow to be transhipped from Hong Kong to the insatiable markets of Europe. Down below in the middle of the harbour lay the Grete Maersk of the Danish Maersk Line for which his company acted as general agents. She was discharging electrical goods, locomotives and pharmaceuticals from Denmark and other European ports. Later in the day she would load the Chinese produce from the Diederichsen and take it to Europe. Jessen turned to focus on Lei Yu Mun, the northern entrance to the harbour, where he could see a bright green freighter steaming in. She was the Sophie Rickmers, then the biggest ship of the Rickmers Line, arriving heavily laden with industrial goods from Europe to be discharged fi rst in Hong Kong and then Shanghai. The Sophie Rickmers was one of the many ships of his father-in-law, Paul Rickmers. Earlier in the day, a pilot had reported from Shek-O the arrival of the Peter Maersk from San Francisco. This was starting out to be an excellent day. xii Prologue The day, however, was to bring him even greater joy. His wife Etha was in the Victoria Hospital waiting to give birth to their fi rst child. He checked his watch, then called for his Boy, Ah Chan, to prepare