Le Grand Harlequin

by Gilles Alexandre

Happy Birthday Grandma

A big Happy Birthday in rememberance of Grandma :)

Winifred was born in 1908. The family lived in Angola, Indiana, where her father taught music at Tri-State University, and her mother played the organ. She grew up in the ‘twenties with her younger sister, Elizabeth. Her nickname was Skip, and her sister’s nickname was Lib or Libby. They played often at the Lake, where her parents had built a cottage, one of the first dwellings in that area since the displacement of the Native Americans. She learned to drive on a Ford Model-A, and attended DePauw University. In the ‘thirties she went on to nearly finish a Master’s degree in business at Columbia University, but left the program early to marry Lloyd. In Goshen, Indiana she taught in a one-room schoolhouse, while her husband worked on power lines for the electric company. She gave birth to two sons, Lewis Neal (Neal) and Lloyd Jr. (nicknamed Bo), but when Neal was just seven years old, her husband was electrocuted on the job, and she was left a widow. Not wanting any other man to tell her how to raise her sons, she managed on her own throughout the 1940's and 1950's and never remarried. She taught math at the local public school for 30 some years, meanwhile raising a few chickens, sheep and rabbits as she could. She was an expert cook and used only the purest butter, salt, and bacon fat as well as the freshest vegetables and meats. Some of her most remembered dishes include fried chicken and mashed potatoes with waxed beans, pancakes with fresh maple syrup, fresh bread, 10-boy lamb curry, and of course cinnamon roles from scratch. In her later years she traveled to Israel, China, and Europe before settling down at the Cottage on the Lake to cook for visitors and watch her grandchildren learn to swim. She was a hard worker and a devoted parent. She got her first gray hair at 60, raked her own leaves until she was eighty, and enjoyed life longer than anyone would have guessed. It was said by some that she had 9 lives, for she survived cancer, kidney failure, heart trouble, glaucoma, and even the quietness of living alone. She died peacefully, aged 93, with her sons close by.We remember her fondly, an honest and inspiring woman.

Strike!

Ahhhhhhhhhh, the French. How comforting to know that there are some ideologies so dear to their hearts that they'll never outgrow them. For instance, the deep-seated love of screwing the government, which inevitably leads to the ubiquitous strike.
Tomorrow's the day. Already warnings and announcements are everywhere as people buy bikes, plan carpools or call-off of work in preparation for the biggest strike since 1995. As I sit at home actually somewhat thankful to be ill with such good timing, I can't wait to hear the "horror" stories. Tonight on the news were a few pathetic laments from the 'man on the street', whining that he'll have to pay for gas and take his car tomorrow when he's already paid for his monthly rail pass, or the woman who pouts about taking two busses and walking to get to work. Meanwhile the roads will be bumper to bumper and about 2% of the train service running, it'll be total gridlock with I estimate about 30% of the rest of France, 40% of Paris, and 80% of suburban Paris completely stranded. Let the games begin!

A day in Paris

Yesterday was an unexpected delight. I rarely get to spend the day visiting in Paris, but found myself with C, his friend visiting from Germany, and another friend of mine.
First met S at the train station, and narrowly escaped having the car towed. These shady-looking tow-trucks pulled up and blocked-in the cars in the no-parking zone, then proceeded to LIFT a few cars with a sort-of built-in crane and straps that go under the car. There were no markings on the trucks, and in 5 minutes, 3 people had lost their cars. What if there was someone's dog inside?
Next we went to lunch at a great Italian restaurant in behind Montmartre. As we were eating, people in various costumes kept passing by the window outside, and we realized the street was filling with people and marching bands preparing for a parade. Then a whole troop of mannequins in Venitian festival costumes piled into the restaurant and took photos behind the bar.

After lunch we found a good spot and watched the parade go by, which turned out to be the Venganges de Montmartre - the festival to celebrate the harvest, and the wine harvest in particular.

Each region of France, and a few random groups from other countries, had their own elaborate costumes and flags representing their agricultural guild.

There were the asparagus farmers,

the cherry farmers, the florists, the gardeners, the Normans who are fishermen, the Champagnois who make Champagne, the Bordelais who make wine in Bordeaux, the Alsacians who make Reisling, and quite a few other farmers and vintners carrying rakes, baskets, passing around bottles of wine and using the tasting cups around their necks.

There were also several groups of traditional dancers and musicians with local instruments and costumes.



The older people looked particularly convincing in the dress of their native region. You'd think they just came through a time warp from some French village in 1840.

The strangest part was last. A group of baton-twirling majorettes from age 6 to 16. While they wore costumes that might have belonged in a homecoming parade in Smalltown, USA, they looked phenominally out of place in the middle of a French cultural parade, and to top it off, they marched in unison with bitter scowels on their faces while the car behind them blared nothing but techno clubbing music. Wow.

After the parade we walked up to Montmartre itself, passing all the tasting booths for various wines and agricultural products: fresh fruits, patés and cheeses.

Only bought some fresh raspberries and sat on the steps, posing as background for a dozen tourists' vacation photos.

We passed back through the giant flea-markets at Porte de Clignancourt, and later we moved on to St. Michel and Odéon to meet friends in a bar to watch the Rugby semi-final against England. The waiters were quite snooty and the posh clientele tried to keep their cool while they sipped champagne and cheered for Les Bleus.
The match was bittersweet. A great feeling of destiny filled the place as we were winning, with some 30 people watching the match through the windows on the streets outside, until the last 4 minutes when the referees called a penalty in England's favor, and they pulled ahead to win. It would have been great, but it was not to be. Even the Caveman collapsed on the field and cried.....

Mushrooms, Rugby, Food

Yesterday we had a visit from C's cousin. C made pizza and I made a pineapple upside-down cake for the first time. (Hint: it's easier with ready-made cake batter)
Then we watched the big game: the French rugby team actually beat the New Zealand All Blacks!

They were face to face when the Blacks did their tribal intimidation dance, a first apparently. Check out the one hairy French guy in the red shirt who never smiles, that's Chabal, called the Caveman (see photo above).


Afterwards there was much honking of horns and shouting in the streets. Next Saturday we play England, who beat Australia yesterday, making them actually shed tears....

Today we did a little tour of the woods since the sun was out and the air was just wonderful, warm and fresh at the same time. Gathered chestnuts from the forest floor (more for fun than for eating) and picked and ate the last blackberries.

Saw a variety of wild mushroom species that are all edible.



Tonight I had a nice evening of American culture: watched football live from the states on cable (Steelers kick ass) drank beer and ate tacos with imported seasoning mix and better than velveeta cheese.

Home sweet home.

It's good to be an international school teacher

Three weeks of school, and I like it already. First two weeks flew by, didn't even see them. Third week was the bonding field trip with the 7th grade to the Loire Valley.

We had a good team of teachers and a good group of kids. Saw castles, river ecosystems, Da Vinci's inventions, gardens, a cave, a chocolate factory of sorts, went on a boat ride and practiced Renaissance dancing.

The best parts were watching the kids in the evening activities which included ice breakers, team competitions, art activities and such. I also had a great time being the tour guide at some real French castles - my history degree finally paying off!

The kids were so smart and inquisitive and well behaved - we got compliments from a couple who had seen us at several chateaux and from the staff and other visitors at a restaurant that was rather fancy when they observed how quiet and civilized 37 twelve-year-olds could be.

School is good otherwise. There are quite a few British teachers and a variety of other nationalities. I'm teaching grades 7,8,9,10 history and 11 and 12 Theory of Knowledge (like philosophy). A demanding schedule, but I love a good challenge.

Next I'll be heading to Berlin with the 11th and 12th grade history students as a chaperone, and meanwhile planning the 10th grade history trip to Normandy - an overnight stay with 90 students and 10 teachers.