Paris at a Certain Age

Sam - c'est moi!

Do you recognize this meal?

You're right!

It's Les oeufs verts au jambon. Ulysses Press (USA) has released a French language edition of the beloved book "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. Foreign language children's books are a great way to learn a new tongue. But they can be expensive and/or difficult to obtain. This edition is reasonably priced.

It's a delight to read the French version:

Je ne peux pas, ne veux pas
ici, dans la nuit.

Peux-tu, veut-tu
sous la pluie?

Je ne peux pas, ne veux pas sous la pluie.
Pas dans un train. Pas dans la nuit.
Pas en auto. Pas sur un plateau.
Je ne les aime pas, Sam-c'est moi.
Pas dans un placard. Pas dans une maison.
Pas avec un renard. Pas avec un raton.
Je n'en mangerai ni ici, ni là.
Je n'en mangerai à aucun endroit!

Tu n'aime pas
les oeufs verts au jambon?

Je ne les aime pas,
Sam-c'est moi.

C'est ce que tu crois.
Mais tu n'as pas goûté!
Essaie au moins une fois,
tu vas peut-être les aimer?

Sam!
Si tu promets de me laisser,
Je veux bien les essayer.
Et tu verras ce que tu verras,
Sam-c'est moi!

For those of you who do not have the English version permanently imprinted on the brain after reading it to your children, here is the original text:

That Sam-I-Am! That Sam-I-Am! I do not like that Sam-I-Am!
Do you like green eggs and ham?
I do not like them Sam-I-Am. I Do not like green eggs and ham.
Would you like them here or there?
I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am.
Would you like them with a mouse? Would you like them in a house?
I do not like them in a house, I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham I do not like them Sam-I-Am.
Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?
Not in a box. Not with a fox. Not in a house. Not with a mouse. I would not eat them here or there. I would not eat them anywhere. I would not eat green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am.
Would you? Could you? In a car? Eat them! Eat them! Here they are.
I would not could not in a car.
You may like them. You will see. You may like them in a tree!
I would not could not in a tree. Not in a car! You let me be! I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.
A train! A train! A train! A train!. Could you, would you on a train?
Not on a train! Not in a tree! Not in a car! Sam! Let me be! I would not could not in a box, I could not, would not, with a fox. I will not eat them with a mouse. I will not eat them in a house. I will not eat them here or there. I will not eat them anywhere. I do not eat green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am.

Tour de France Pénitentiaire

Did you read the AP news article about the Tour de France Pénitentiaire? French prison officials selected 200 prisoners to participate in a two week, 1,370 mile event that has 15 stages averaging 90 miles each. Prison guards cycle with them and each start and finish is close to a penitentiary where prisoners stay between stages. They have a financial sponsor, Francaise des Jeux, a lottery group that sponsors a team in the real Tour de France. Professional coaches and cyclists have visited the prisons to offer advice in advance of the prisoners' Tour.

While I'm sure that French prisons are no walk in the park, can you imagine this happening in the US? We invest money in building prisons, not in rehabilitation. California's politicians are held hostage by the prison guards' union. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County in Arizona is famous for housing inmates in tent cities in the desert (with extreme daytime temps inside the tents, especially in the top bunks), instituting chain gangs for females and juveniles and for introducing pink underwear for prisoners.

France has a director of athletic programs for their prisons; the US has one in one hundred Americans imprisoned. Now that the California budget is imploding and will be forced into prison early release programs, don't you think we'd be better off if the prisoners had been prepared with reentry programs to help them reintegrate successfully?

Joke/Blague

What do you say to someone who is taking a 'stay-cation'?

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"Non Voyage!"

Found French

It's so much easier to learn French when you're in France, surrounded by people speaking the language and seeing it on all the signs and newspapers. It seeps in without conscious awareness. But even here in the US it's possible to find French in everyday life just by examining packaging and instructions and the like. For instance, now I know how to say 'cheese slicer' in French: coupe-fromage!

Unrelated Meanings

Ever since first learning about the word seviette, I've loved discovering French words that have  multiple and unrelated meanings. .

Une Serviette is both a towel:

and a briefcase:

How weird and great is that?

And now for another one: un chouchou
Un chouchou is a darling:

and a hair scrunchy:

cat = quatre

Le Quotidien

French language books neglect a whole genre of everyday words. Sure, they cover le stylo and un réveil, but there are many articles of daily living that aren't mentioned at all. Today's word is Q-tip (or cotton applicator if you are a stickler for generic): un coton tige or un bâtonnet ouaté.

Les Aventures de Capitaine Subjonctif

Abolish the Subjunctive!
According to the ever-charming, multi-lingual Giovanni R., now that Obama has been elected and we are about to shed the xenophobe in office, it might be the ideal time to pursue Giovanni's pet cause. America can cast off its 'freedom fries' past, make nice with France and try to convince l'Académie française to abolish the subjunctive. Think how much easier French conversation would be without that nagging verb tense. Yes, yes, I know you've tried the secondary position: Avoid the Subjunctive. But tell the truth, don't you feel like a weenie saying "On doit..." instead of "Il faut que..."?

If we can't Abolish the Subjunctive or Avoid the Subjunctive, maybe we need the intervention of the French Superhero Capitaine Subjonctif. He's the creation of artist/dentist Doctor Andrew Shelley from Manchester, England. Visit his website at www.andrewshelley.com and maybe we can convince him to put dentistry aside and create further adventures of Le Capitaine. The following is used with the artist's permission.

Au revoir

It's time to leave...we are being unceremoniously pushed, pulled back into the cold, cruel world of the US.

I'm in love with a city....

This is how I feel about the city of Paris. I want to stop in the streets and embrace them like a lover. I want to hold on and never let go, never be separated from them. Sigh...