Traveling Back in Time For five decades, from 1916 to 1963, Norman Rockwell’s paintings appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post weekly magaine. His artwork captured a sentimentalized view of American family life. (I should qualify that by saying “white families.” His editor didn’t allow him to depict Black people except in servile roles.) Recently, I was reminded of the old-time appeal of his paintings on a Sunday excursion to a local park. The day was filled with simple pleasures: a walk with friends, a few games in the park, a casual visit with neighbors, a few introductions

Castelnau-le-Lez Mayor Quite by coincidence, the mayor of Castelnau-le-Lez, Frédéric Lafforgue, scheduled the grand opening of a city park less than two blocks from where I live on November 5. My birthday! Not one to be shy about co-opting others’ efforts, I declared his city-sponsored picnic to be my personal birthday party. The people I know here are used to my co-opting French events for my own purposes. For instance, I left the United States on July 14, 2021, to move to France. Those who know French history are aware that July 14 is Bastille Day, an occasion marked by

Tennis Again For too long a time, events in my life have conspired to prevent me from playing tennis. But I never gave up hope that circumstances and my health would permit me to return to a sport I love. So strong was my conviction that I’d play again that one of my first purchases when I arrived in France was a blue tennis bag and four cans of balls. Imagine my delight when I recently discovered that the Castelnauvien Tennis Club was less than a mile away from my home, easily within walking distance. But of course, finding a

Adventures in France By necessity, rather than by design, I’ve been exploring the unfamiliar terrain of the French medical system. I sort of knew how the US healthcare system worked (to the extent it did), but I had to learn a somewhat different system here. This includes seeking medical help for conditions I’d never heard of—like a blocked saliva gland and a misaligned jaw. I’ve since learned that both are quite common. But because I’d never had them or heard of anyone who’d had them, the conditions were new to me. Seeing a physical therapist who would address my jaw

Perfect Sunday Afternoon A beautiful Sunday begs for a trip to one of the delightful surrounding towns, or communes, as they are called. On such a fall Sunday, my new French friends invited me to join them for an outing at Palavas-les-Flots, a seacoast town about 35 minutes from home. On the drive there, we passed miles of marshland and shallow lakes, home to hundreds of wild pink flamingos. A few of the many flamingos (Photo by Clive Kim, pexels.com) Flamingos Loaf a Lot When flamingos are standing still, I wondered, why do they stand on one leg? According to

Adapt or Perish—Today and Tomorrow Most of my French adventures have been positive and energizing. But one part remains difficult: leaving my friends in the United States. One of those friends recently (and suddenly) lost her partner after many years together. Living 6,000 miles away, I wondered, how could I express my condolences? How could I comfort her? Or at least, how could I reassure her that her difficult moments would get easier? The Constancy of Change Since I’m a writer, I composed an email sharing some of my experiences of being widowed 17 months earlier. I forewarned my friend

Food and Eating in France As I reflect on my life in the United States, I don’t recall spending hours on the presentation of the food I served. I don’t think many of my friends, some who were excellent cooks, did either. In comparison, the French pay a great deal of attention to the way food looks. A lovely dip almost too pretty to eat, served at the home of a friend Eating in France could easily be declared a national obsession or religion. Or perhaps a national pastime, like baseball for Americans. Indeed, France's culinary heritage was included on

vive la différence Americans’ eating habits have a poor reputation here in France. The stereotype is that we eat too much. Moreover, too much of the “too much” is unhealthy processed food. We also eat without appreciating our food, and we don’t take time to enjoy the food or socialize while eating. For instance, lunch at work might be a sandwich and soft drink consumed alone in front of our computer at our desk while we keep working. The result of this style of eating is a population with two-thirds of its members overweight. Even worse, nearly 40 percent of

Celebrating Thirty Years This year, had Dick Carson, my husband, hung on just a bit longer, he and I would have celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. Alas, it was not to be. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a sad story. Au contraire, I am profoundly grateful for the time he and I had together. Although Dick isn’t physically present to celebrate, he still lives in my heart. He also lives in my head—sometimes annoyingly so. That’s because I constantly hear his admonition to “Stop working so hard” or “Stop and smell the roses!” Two “Geriatrics” Find Romance I

Tourist to Guide Guests from the United States are starting to arrive for visits, the most recent being a grandson, Pietas, and his wife, Star. So I had the opportunity to switch from my usual role of a sightseeing tourist to a host and guide. With only four days with my guests, we wanted to make the most of the time. We started our first day the same way we would start every morning during their visit—with fresh pastries from our local boulangerie. Expresso typically did the early morning bakery run and left the treats for us to enjoy. After