Thursday, September 9, 2010

Meeting The Neighbors


The beginning of this week ushered in another neighbor who showed up Monday morning.
She lives 2 floors up and I'd actually met her over a month ago. We've been listening to her play piano for months and had marveled at how good whoever it was played and how lucky we were to be able to hear music like that free. She's a lovely, vivacious, and kind woman, who's fortunes of late have not been kind to her in fact her story broke my heart Monday morning. She'd come by to ask what our rent was as she was planning on selling her apartment. For a French person to be that forthright with almost a total stranger told me volumes about her and her situation.

I'll be sorry to see her go particularly right after really getting to know her a bit better. I suspect some of my own stories may have frightened her as our French friend Gilles Asselin always liked referring to me as an "optimistic American" and way to forward for the French.

I plan whenever possible to do nice things for her and try to make her smile. She has a daughter who sings opera and who is amazing. What a gift it is to interact with the French who have such different perspectives. They change all of us in little ways every day here. Our new friend Gerard from Lyon had never heard of the Allman Brothers or ever heard any of ZZ Top's music but had heard of the band. He laughed for 10 minutes when I told him ZZ Top's guitarist Billy Gibbons (The Right Reverend Willie G) had once described their music as sounding like "4 flat tires on a muddy road". I got an email from him today asking when I would add ZZ Top to my weekly music email group. I'm hooking him up for sure.

That's what we must sound like to the French when we attempt speaking their language.

In closing all of this reminds me of how living in Paris is slowly weaving it's way into my fiber and becoming a part of me that's been missing for a long time.

It's great to be back..........*

Love to all everywhere,

A bientot,

Sid

1 comment:

  1. It's so fun learning about another country & I enjoyed your post. Great photo also! Hopefully things will work out for your neighbor.

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