It has been twenty years since that bitter cold January 11, when Heino Jõe departed this world to “manala”, the land of souls. Those who knew him will no doubt confirm my belief that the amount of energy he exuded during his lifetime must be buzzing about this universe somewhere.
The night before his death he had slept a mere 4 hours. Not so unusual for him because there were important things to do. He had finished writing some fifteen letters to friends and colleagues in Eesti regarding the rebirth of the scouting movement. It was an urgent time! It was an exciting time! We all knew and could feel the freedom for Eesti was just around the corner. There was no e-mail and getting his letters off to Eesti was more critical than sleep. His plans, advice and wishes reached his friends after his death but in his soul he knew what was just around the corner.
Years ago when many Toronto Estonian families had stopped teaching their mother tongue to their children because "it was a useless language and who is ever going to need it!", he would say to me; "Küll sa näed Anu. Suurriigid tulevad ja langevad. Eesti saab vabaks!” Estonia will be free again.
What Heino accomplished as a Scout leader, teacher and journalist has been recorded in two books: BlackJoe Päevaraamat (1992) and Jämesääre Jäljed (1994). However, what is missing are the “mahlakad asjad”: his short tales, anecdotes, jokes, witty sayings, ditties or spontaneous songs. Oftentimes people will come up to me and repeat these to me. They seem to want to tell them and remember them. I have collected as many as I can recall.
I am now requesting that you, dear reader, help me to compile a booklet of these "bits" that made my father such a colourful character. Please forward any little thing you may recall and I will reward you with a copy of this booklet once completed.
As an example, I'll sign off with a ditty that my partner Keto loves to sing around the house when he recalls Heino from the “Suurlaager” at Kotkajärve, sitting high up in his tent platform built into a mighty oak tree. He had a bird’s eye view of all the boys under his care.
“Istub siin, comics peos, lõuad täis on kummi
rääkida eesti keelt ei mõista udujummi.
Küsin siit, küsin sealt, kas on keegi näinud
seda minu armast sõbrakest, kes on Yänkiks läinud?” Please contact me at
