FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

I was recently in a car with a friend who warned me of 'un virage de con' I laughed and laughed, I love these expressions but I suppose the English hairpin bend means the same as épingle à cheveux but it somehow sounds more evocative in French.

The sound feature, since it was changed, doesn't work well, or sometimes, at all.

I used to know a young woman who looked like a gang member, with studs on her jacket, etc. She told me she dressed like that to keep the "weirdos" away. To others, she might have looked threatening, but she wasn't.

I try hard to trust people until they show they can't be trusted.

I took a photograph through that same beautiful wrought iron fanlight! It's fun to read about your visits to places I so recently visited myself.

Like Marianne, I've found that the sound clips no longer work reliably. Today's doesn't work at all for me.

Salut Kristin,

What a pleasing sea photo! Add the smell of a sea breeze and I can see why Jean-Marc is out-pacing you. In early Arizona, the Navajo man always walked ahead of his squaw because of rattle snakes! Your situation is better.

The switch-back is the best way to traverse a steep slope. In Arizona’s Grand Canyon, many of the trails follow ancient Native American paths which had switch-backs. On the Bright Angel trail there’s a series of switch-backs called the “Devils Corkscrew” which is quite a challenging climb. Guess what? No guard walls!

I’m anxious to see how your story turns out. Hope you catch up to your sea-bound man.

À bientôt

Mike, Bill, Marianne, and all who practice this kind of sensibility: well done and well said! I'm listening!

Angela, I hear the French tack on "de con" to a number of terms and expressions ("un frigo de con" when the fridge isn't working... "un télécommande de con when the remote control malfunctions... un régime de con... when a diet isn't working :-)

Passante and Marianne, thanks for the feedback re the sound file... will check it out. And, Passante, what a coincidence that you were in Acireale! Also, thanks for the word "fanlight", it will come in handy when labeling these photos for future French word editions.

Cyndy: the weather was unusually cold, or so the locals assured us!

Herm, thanks, as always, for a little AZ history and for the info on switch-backs (love the very visual term "Devil's Corkscrew"!)

Mary, so glad this story made you laugh. As Jules would say, "laughter releases those endorphins!" and it's much better than fretting (which must release only sweat and none of those happy hormones !)

Kristi you have me spell bound with your photo's trip to the sea!
How I love to 'travel' along with you :)
OXOX,
Missy

I used to live full time on an 'up-market' housing estate beside a golf course (in Wicklow, Ireland). I was part of the 25% who lived there year round. Then there were the 70% who came for a month or two in the summer (5% just owned a house for prestige and only came for the odd visit). When the 'summer' people arrived so did their kids. Unlike French families where there is respect for elders these 'kids' would hang out in bunches and intimidate people like me, who were full time residents, when we were out walking. After all unlike them 'we' only owned 'one' house so 'we' were definitely inferior (from converstaitions overheard). I used to force myself, with steady breathing, to walk past them and sometimes to stop and talk to them. This took them aback but there was quite obvious underlying disdain in their eyes. So it is not always the 'Goth' like figures that give us the heebeejeebees! You can imagine the sigh of relief 'we' sighed when 'they' all went back to their 'big' houses in Dublin! I am so glad I live in France!! It is a bit like Ireland used to be 40 years ago - before the 'greed' set in.

Just keep writing about all that you do write about, including worries and concerns. I smiled all the way through. You write about such a variety of topics, and while we might not always be able to discern a person's true character by their appearance, still, we do take notice.

I live in Chicago. There's alot of great things going on but then again tragedy strikes everyday. Car jackings happen all the time. I was amazed when I went to live in South Korea last year that they never have car jackings. I guess Chicagoans like to drive.

In regard to your boots, you mean 'trod' (past tense and past participle), not 'tread' (present tense).

Kristin, I was about to write back that while I have been in Aci Reale (and Aci Trezza and the gorgeous Aci Castello), that fanlight is in Catania. Then I looked back at my own photographs to check and my Catania fanlight, through which you can also see a church steeple/bell tower, is slightly different. The difference is subtle enough that you have to see them side by side. I wonder if these fanlights are a characteristic Sicilian architectural detail and that one could find them in many places. I'll e-mail you my photo so you can see the similarity.