The 12th Man - An Amazing Tribute

Tonight for FHE we watched a movie that I wouldn't normally watch with my younger kids, but this one was quite special. It's called The 12th Man and it is adapted from the book written by my dearest friend, Astrid Karlsen Scott. Sadly, she passed away several months before the movie was released.

Astrid Karlsen Scott

She had always talked about taking me and Baby Doll to Norway for the movie premiere so she could show us the land of her birth. She was an amazing person and she was so good to Baby Doll! When I was first assigned to be her visiting teacher, I was a bit grumbly about the fact that I had lived in the same ward for 20 years and I knew almost everyone, except her.

She was a new move-in, 30 years older than me and in a totally different stage of her life. I was intrigued with the idea that she was a writer, and I was a bit incredulous when she told me about her book that was being filmed in Norway as a major motion picture. This was the big time.

But after I finished being in awe of her amazingness, I simply came to love her. We spent many happy hours in the temple. When I dozed off, she was give me the elbow and when she dozed off I would give her a somewhat more gentle one. She didn't drive, so we had other adventures too. She remembered fondly canning peaches and she loved fresh fruit, so one day we drove down to Utah County, bought peaches, and came home and put them into jars. She was so excited about the simple things.

I still remember that morning when the Relief Society President called to tell me that Astrid's husband had passed away in the night. I visited with her that day and the next day and stayed close by during the viewing, funeral, and gravesite. She never broke down in front of me or in public; her no nonsense attitude didn't allow that sort of weakness.

As I mentioned before, she loved Baby Doll, my sweet little companion who couldn't wait to see her adopted Grandma. Astrid almost always had something for her, tiny porcelain dolls from Norway, each presented at a different visit, a coloring book she just "happened" to have laying around, and a beautiful full-color picture book about a little girl from her beloved Norway that she presented  the day before Baby Doll's first day of kindergarten.

We loved Astrid so much! When her son, John, offered to let us borrow his copy of her movie in English, how could we say no? Was it bloody? Yes. It was a war movie. But it was also a labor of love and a sweet tribute to our dear friend.