round numbers and generalties
What do round numbers and generalties have in common?
They’re always false!
And while I’m tempted to say that ‘down’ here in Savannah everyone’s so nice … it’s probably because we just haven’t encountered the other kind! But kind they are. And while that may be just the generality we want to avoid … the folk I’ve been meeting are hard-working, upstanding friendly souls … the kind Woody Guthrie could have sung about.
Yesterday, I met Lem for the first time. He comes from Darlington, South Carolina. A fine man, finer you’d probably not find: Stephanie said she didn’t take the first one that came along, and not the second or third either…. She waited for the best. And they make a mighty fine couple.
Lem says there are about 6500 people in Darlington and that they’re good folk.
France, too, has lots and lots of real good folk. Just got to get to know ’em.
Sit down to table. Share a few dozen oysters with a Muscadet or a “pot au feu” and a simple red wine and you’ll … start to get to know each other. Not just the appearances but what you’ve got in common … rather than what separates you.
And that involves one of the best qualites we can have: knowin’ how to listen … and knowin’ when to talk.
And that ain’t no generality. Just the plain simple truth.
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Travel & Tourism, France: Reims rhymes with France
For Michel D. .. but not only!
Reims rhymes with France Travel & Tourism Expatica France.
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“We’re not out of the woods yet”
One of my students came across this great expression listening to an interview with the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Interview by by Calvin Sims.
(There are a number of remarkable interviews in the “Interviews” section of the Video Library at the NYT.)
the woods: you can imagine being in the midst of a forest.
not out of the woods = still lost in the midst of that forest.
not out of the woods yet > while we’re still in the woods, we will eventually get out to a clearing.
“On n’est pas sorti de l’auberge!”
If you’re interested in useful expressions and pronunciation … subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection.
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It’s obvious.
évident, n’est-ce pas ?
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Green light.
but … who is it for?
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“As busy as a bee”
Beehives in the Luxembourg Gardens.
“As busy as a bee”
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Newsletter: July 9, 2010
Good news!
Isn’t that what we live for? When things finally happen for the best? When hopes and dreams come true … and not just by good luck.
Like health:
- all systems are working the way they’re supposed to … or you’re getting better … feeling better … getting some exercise … and you’re not such a great client at the pharmacist’s;
Like … achievement:
- being successful; meeting your goals; getting accepted to the school you were hoping for;
Like money:
- finding out you’ve got a promotion, a bonus, new revenue, new contracts, your investments are on the rise;
Like love:
- you are on the same wavelength as … your other half …. or at least going in the right direction! And the future is full of promise;
Like friendship:
- someone can count on you as much as you can count on them
Like encounters
- full of potential.
Add to these a background, however chaotic like the sea, that allows you the freedom to do, to believe, to say
and … with one little smile, there you are, you’ve got a good-news day!
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Clint Eastwood talks about Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Moviemakers have set their cameras here. Here’s why:
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“ance” and “ence” spelling
I made a huge spelling mistake in yesterday’s newsletter as well as an obvious typo of the word “thirteen.” Sherry B., a Savannah gal, quickly pointed them out. Thanks, Sherry!
Independence: this is the correct spelling in English. Likewise : independent.
Indépendance: this is the French word. Et aussi: indépendant.
In both cases, the notions are the same: without being dependent (in French dépendant).
It’s no surprise that this concept is linked to both America and France. Isn’t “independence” linked to the concepts of “freedom” and “liberty?”
Associated concepts might include : free thinking; emancipation; non-conformity; autonomy … More? Add them please!
Maybe the gift of the “Statue of Liberty” was like so many gifts … One reflecting the giver as much as the receiver?
The Declaration of Independence. Asserting one’s freedom.
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