Paris to Auray to Erdeven

Watson

May 17: After breakfast, we pack and taxi to the PARIS MONTPARNASSE station to take the 9:55 train from Paris to Auray in the country’s Brittany (western) section. We could have walked to the subway and then traveled that way, but my wife chose to spend the money on the easier path.

It was actually two different trains. From Paris to Rennes was lovely, with assigned seats on the TGV TRAIN, Internet connectivity, and room to store our items.

But we had just ten minutes to catch our connection to Auray on a different platform. The TER TRAIN was overly full, and while I had gotten on, my wife, ever polite, was waiting for someone to move in so she could get on board and was almost left behind.

We were standing with our luggage for a time before a couple of people let the old couple sit down. This was appreciated, but my seat was right across from the bathroom, which extended into the train car. So my 35-pound suitcase sat on my lap.

We arrive at the Auray train station at about 1 pm. Deborah met my wife, although they had spoken on Facebook. We meet Cyrille; he seems like a very nice guy.

Peugeot

We have a brief conversation about the rental car. I had written to Deborah the week before about the rental car she secured with my wife’s driver’s license and my credit card. She had briefly forgotten this detail since she’d done it around February 1. Then they had to meet other travelers.

We get something to eat at a local cafe and then go to the nearby Europcar place only a half block away. The car is a Peugeot; it has automatic transmission, but it takes my wife about ten minutes to suss out its operation.

Then we needed to figure out where our next hotel was. Initially, we can’t figure out the GPS and try a paper map. Ultimately, we get the GPS to work, though we don’t know how. The hotel is only a short distance away, but the GPS directs us to a path we can’t use because of road construction. The paper map then did the trick.

We relax and have dinner there.

May 18: My wife drove the 20 minutes/16 km to Erdeven. We were there to participate in the rehearsal for Deborah and Cyrille’s wedding. On April 25, she asked me to read scripture, Song of Songs, a/k/a Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7. The book is so sexy that it only shows up in the church liturgy once every three years. “Set me as a seal upon thine heart” and “Many waters cannot quench love” are anthems our choir has sung. I agreed to this.

Plan B

Then on April 29, she wrote: “Yesterday I met with the Catholic priest…about placement at the wedding, and he told me that, in fact, we need FOUR people to bring the offerings to the altar: bread, wine, water AND two candle holders with candles.” So I instead switched to doing this with my wife. It’s like jazz; it’s all good.

But there wasn’t anything we needed to DO at the rehearsal except watch. Watson, the dog, accompanied by Deborah’s kids, will be the ring bearer.

Still, we got to attend the rehearsal luncheon and meet some new folks, a couple from Tennessee who are summering in Cyprus.

We return to our hotel for two hours before Deborah picks us up. She has planned an elaborate dinner on boats. Still, the meal prep is far behind schedule because of the significant festival that makes her getting to her apartment difficult.

Ultimately, we haul two bags each for four boats. One bag had chicken, beans, and potatoes; the other had plates, napkins, silverware, wine, and water.

Four people volunteered to operate the boats; they even had captain’s hats. I was NOT one of them. Deborah was trying to replicate a previous event she had experienced.  Unfortunately, it was far cooler and the water rougher.

Moreover, the tide was such that one boat got stuck in the mud. Ours almost did the same. Fortunately, Father Thomas was an experienced boatman in his youth and got us out. Igor, Ruth, my wife, and I were very grateful.

Deborah drove us back to our hotel after 11 pm/23:00.  She’s getting married in the morning…

Added in response to a question about the Church of St Peter St Paul via Google Translate: “Dating from 1755, the bell tower, all in granite, consists of a square tower surmounted by an octagonal part ending in a lantern. The aisles came to widen the nave from 1832, giving it its current appearance. On the gable of the south is leaned a cross whose granite base bears the date of 1851.” Thanks, Deborah!

Sunday Stealing: Swap Bot

unscheduled

This Sunday Stealing is from Swap Bot, which I misread as Swamp Bot.

Have you tried anything new this year?
I went to a corner grocery store that was six blocks away. I had not been there in decades, if at all,  and I’m unsure why. It’s nicer than the store a block closer to me.
Oh, yeah, I also went to France last month. I’d never been anywhere except North America before. The picture is of the bride and the groom’s father at the wedding rehearsal in Erdevan.

What would you do if you didn’t have wifi for a week?
Read books and magazines a lot. Play board games. Talk on the telephone.

Do you like summer? Why or why not?
I don’t mind it unless the sun is scorching. That said, I tend towards the shade because of my vitiligo.

What’s one restaurant that you like in your city? What food do they sell?
Allie B’s Cozy Kitchen serves soul food.

Do you prefer a digital book or a real paper book?
I really can’t concentrate while reading digital books, and have tried. Also, I’m on the computer a lot, so I like paper books.

What’s one thing that you want to buy, but it’s a bit expensive, so you haven’t bought it yet?
A new office chair. It’s a bit shaky. It’s not terribly expensive, but I’m a bit low on funds after going to France.

What tea brands do you like?
I don’t know about brands. I tend to like most teas by most brands. When in doubt, get me English Breakfast.

What’s one food that you can binge eat a lot?
Ritz crackers and cheese together.
Small amounts of money
Write one random thing that happened to you this month.
On June 7, I received an email telling me: “Between June 14th and June 19th, 2023, you will be sent a settlement payment from the class action settlement in In re EpiPen Marketing, Sales Practices and Antitrust Litigation, Civil Case No. 2:17-md-02785-DDC-TJJ, pending in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.”
On June 9, I received an email: “New York Attorney General Letitia James has reached an agreement with Family Energy, Inc. The Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York (“NYAG”) has determined that you are eligible to receive a payment of $57.13 as compensation for money you have lost due to this company’s deceptive business practices.”
Also, on June 9, “Yahoo Data Breach Settlement sent you USD 61.08. Your Yahoo Data Breach settlement payment is now available in PayPal.”
These minor payments to me are undoubtedly a massive pain for the payees.

How many long-term penpals do you have right now? (people who pen pal with you for more than 3 years)
Define penpal. If by that, you mean regular communication, then nobody, and there hasn’t been any since about five years after I got email. Before email, I probably had a couple of dozen folks regularly.

What food do you want to sell if you own a small food trailer?
Not really in my skill set or my interest. Still, I’ll pick eggs because I DO know how to make them scrambled, fried, poached, et al.—some real and faux sausage and toast.
Precious
What’s one handmade gift that you received and really liked?
Messages from my daughter. But I’ve kept several things my daughter has created.

What’s your ideal Saturday like?
Unscheduled, which has not happened nearly often enough. I’d catch up on reading newspapers, watching Finding Your Roots on TV, and finally clean my office.

What things do you like to buy on Etsy?
Not much. My daughter bought rolling pins from Ukraine for her mother, which I paid for. We have ordered delicious bundt cakes from Great Exbaketations Bakery in the past. I bought two obscure CDs in 2022.

What kind of Asian food do you like?
Indian, specifically lamb saag, chicken tikka masala, and others. I also like Chinese food. I’ve enjoyed Thai food the few times I had it.

Most awarded songs #11

“unable to interpret any of the wording”

Creedence-Clearwater-Revival
Stu, John, Doug, Tom

Now the countdown begins in earnest. With the list of some of the most awarded songs #11, we’re talking about the songs pop music aficionados of the 20th century surely know. So do Grammy and Oscar voters, as well as those folks who create those lists for Rolling Stone magazine, RIAA, ASCAP, CMA, NPR, and more.

50. Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan. “Rolling Stone listed it at No. 1 on their 2004 and 2010 ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’ lists.”

49. Louie Louie – The Kingsmen. Richard Berry wrote this in 1955 and released a recording in 1957. But it’s the Kingsmen version in 1963 that made its mark. It’s chaotic, raw, and sloppy, with the singer coming in too early after an instrumental break. “The FBI started a 31-month investigation into the matter and concluded they were ‘unable to interpret any of the wording in the record.'” That actually added to the song’s allure.

48. When A Man Loves A Woman – Percy Sledge. Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright were members of the Esquires, which Percy Sledge fronted. The two are credited with writing the song, but Sledge thought that his changes warranted a co-writing designation.

47. I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Marvin Gaye. The third version of the song from Motown. Berry Gordy nixed The Miracles’version. Gladys Knight and the Pips had a hit. But Marvin’s version became the monster. It became overplayed when the movie The Big Chill came out.

This is NOT a good wedding song

46. Every Breath You Take – The Police. This is a song about stalking and the breakup of Sting’s marriage. So the songwriter is bemused when people tell him they had the song played at their weddings.

45. Don’t Be Cruel – Elvis Presley. It was written by Otis Blackwell in 1956. A two-sided hit with Hound Dog.

44. In The Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett. “The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis, later (April 1968) the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.” It might have been a bigger pop hit except that the powers that be thought it was too suggestive.

43. Earth Angel – The Penguins. “The original demo version became an unexpected hit.” Songwriting credits were in dispute for years. A vocal group from Canada named the Crew-Cuts did a cover and actually had the bigger pop hit.

42. Peggy Sue – Buddy Holly. The song was written by Jerry Allison and Norman Petty, although they insisted Holly receive a credit after he had died in 1959.

41. Proud Mary – Creedence Clearwater Revival. This was the first of five singles by the band to peak at Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

An American in Paris

big sax

May 15: An American in Paris. Actually, two Americans celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary. After resting following our 24-hour, sleepless journey, we recognized that we had little time to experience the French capital. We went out to eat at a nearby restaurant in the Latin Quarter, so named because the language was taught at many schools in the area in the Middle Ages.

One of the first things one notices is giant teddy beans seated throughout the establishment. When I asked why, I was told they were a sign of happiness during COVID. They’re not limited to that restaurant but also appear at various shops.

As we were leaving, I took particular joy in seeing three adults my age or older sitting with this specific bear, even though there were other tables available.

We wandered down to Notre Dame. It’s a mighty impressive edifice, even during its renovation following the 15 April 2019 fire that toppled its iconic spire.

I love this hidden garden.

This piece of art was a block from our hotel.

May 16: After breakfast, we walked around the immediate area. The Panthéon is “a monument in the 5th arrondissement…  built between 1758 and 1790.”

Ultimately, we realized we needed to take a tour bus around the city to see the sights at least. There were at least two Hop-on Hop-off bus tours of the city we saw, Big Bus and TootBus, which we took. It cost about 40 Euros, more if we wanted to ride the Seine, which we could have, but time was more a factor. We did stop at the Louvre, though we didn’t have tickets, so we didn’t go in.

We did see the noted locales, albeit briefly. C’est la tour Eiffel, taken on the tour bus.

TJ

We returned to the MUSEE D’ORSAY area because we had homework. Our daughter wanted us to make a video of us singing to the beginning of The Election of 1800 from Hamilton with something definitively French in the background. Specifically, she wanted us to emphasize the lyrics: “And they say I’m a Francophile: at least they know I know where France is!”

My wife had spotted a statue of Thomas Jefferson. We made a couple of attempts, but I don’t think they’re satisfactory, in part because of the lack of skills of the actors and film crew.

We ate at a nearby restaurant. While we were sitting, a dozen police vehicles, all with sirens, passed by; we never did figure out what that was about.

We decided to walk back to our hotel. It was farther than I anticipated, and we stopped twice. But what was great was that we got to see random images we photographed. We also purchased a couple of souvenirs for our daughter, including a pink beret and a wedding card for Deborah and Cyrille.

After a brief stop at our hotel room, we went to a restaurant only two blocks away. We stayed inside partly because it was cool and the cigarette smokers were out there. Even indoors, we could catch a hint of tobacco stench from the guy outside our window.

I was captivated by a table of eight people sitting outside, six women and two men. At least three people walked or rode their bicycles by and stopped to chat with the octet. It seemed very…French.

Waving my pride flag

no tolerance for hate

How is it that things have moved backward in America? I feel a greater need to wave my pride flag, at least metaphorically, than I have in years.

Just last month, I quoted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about the xenophobia that targets many folks. “They started by finding marginalized groups to demonize to unite people around a common enemy… to hate. Then they launched overwhelming campaigns of disinformation that ensured the people didn’t know what actually was happening in the world, only what they wanted them to know.”

It’s astounding how much misinformation – strike that: DISINFORMATION – is being spread about LGBTQ+ people.

Retrogression

An NBC News story on June 1: Companies under fire as Pride Month kicks off. “Some corporations are stepping into a fierce fight over transgender issues in the U.S. Target, Bud Light and Kohl’s are just a few of the companies getting backlash. ” And so is Chick-Fil-A?

To that end, this is from the Boston Globe. “From campy to controversial: How drag queens became a target of conservative lawmakers. The performers have gone from being the life of the party to facing tough restrictions and open animosity.”

From the LA Times on June 2: Police stepped in to split up protesters in a tense scene outside a North Hollywood elementary school as more than 100 parents rallied against a Pride Day assembly, bringing to a head weeks of turmoil that saw a transgender teacher’s LGBTQ+ Pride flag burned.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ civil rights group, issued its first State of Emergency in its 40-plus year history, citing a record number of bills across state legislatures targeted at regulating the lives of queer people. 

Several media outlets report that the Proud Boys plan to escalate their presence during Pride Month. “In private Telegram groups, Proud Boys have planned to counter Pride events by ‘taking back June’ with a so-called ‘Proud Month’ that would, as one militia member put it, ‘challenge this perversion of the Nuclear Family and Gender.” Proud Boys also plan to disrupt and co-opt Juneteenth celebrations with coordinated ‘Proud Day’ events “to break the chains of Pride Month” on June 17, two days before.”

The fight continues

Thus it becomes incumbent for allies to stay vocal and visible. The straight, cisgender Weekly Sift guy, notes, “I have attended Pride parades or seen drag shows. I’ve always found such events uplifting and life-affirming. I’ve never felt like anyone was telling me I should be gay or trans or anything else. The point is that we can all be what we are, and maybe even what we want to be.

“I see LGBTQ Pride as a little like ‘Black Lives Matter’; it’s a response to a negative. So often, our society sends the message that Black lives don’t matter, or that being anything other than heterosexual is shameful or sinful. Simply saying ‘I’m not ashamed of what I am’ doesn’t seem nearly strong enough, so I fully support people expressing pride in themselves.”

The AFL-CIO notes:  “We fight for all working people—no matter the gender, race, ethnicity or any other identity. Those identities intersect with your own identity as a worker, as a parent, as a sibling.  In America, we believe all people should be able to work without fear of discrimination or violence… LGBTQ+ people still lack basic federal legal protections in the workplace, which make them vulnerable to recent appalling and shameful actions by state legislatures. We have no tolerance for hate in our movement.” Amen.

Ramblin' with Roger
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