A busy autumn week in Georgia

First, I'd like to thank all my blogging friends for writing many words of comfort on my last post about the passing of my husband.  I am also grateful for the individual emails of support that were sent to me.  It was a sad time returning to Georgia where I had planned to take back my husband's winter clothes to Tennessee, but now they were no longer needed.  I found a homeless shelter not far away and was able to bring some of his warm coats there.  After I told the roofer that my husband had passed away he said that I could delay the work until it was more convenient.  But I had decided to go to Georgia that week so I could vote early.  And I did drive there on October 28, 2018, as I mentioned in my last post.

This was an important mid-term vote in Georgia because it showed that the state is not totally conservative anymore.  The youth turnout increased 500 percent and six time more Hispanic/Latino voters cast their ballots as well as twice as many African-Americans as before.  Some people in GA had to wait 6 hours in line to vote.  The turnout in my county, Cobb, was 63.7% more than last time even though 600 voting machines had been taken out of the pool by Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is also running as a Republican for the governor seat.  I was very surprised to see that all the suburban counties around Atlanta switched to blue, anywhere from 55% to 83.4%.  Even if she does not win the race (at this writing it is still undecided) Stacey Abrams, the Democratic Party nominee running for the Georgia Gubernatorial seat, has shown that Georgia is becoming more liberal.  Twenty-nine counties in Georgia voted blue (Democratic) against for example states in the Midwest not considered as conservative as the deep South, such as Indiana with only 3 blue counties, and 3 blue counties as well in Missouri (against 13 blue in Alabama.)  Pictures below showing voting in Cobb County (courtesy AJC.)

The new roof installation was done promptly several days after I arrived in Georgia.  Next month it will be the gutters.  The day before I drove to Georgia, Saturday October 27th, eleven congregants in a Pittsburgh synagogue were massacred by a man shouting anti-Semitic words.  This really upset me that in this country, in 2018, there could be such an attack on innocent worshipers.  I thought that people of every race or religion were endowed with the same inalienable rights here, no?  I read that in 2017 anti-Semitic incidents increased in the US by 60%, the largest increase in a single-year.  These 1,986 incidents included physical assaults, vandalism and attacks on Jewish institutions.  Below is a photo of the stained glass windows in the main sanctuary of the Pittsburgh synagogue Tree of Life or L'Simcha Congregation, courtesy Tree of Life synagogue.

 Many argue that President Trump is not helping with his brand of politics using racial rhetoric, attacks against immigrants and his ways of stirring the pot of nationalism and even proclaiming that he is a nationalist.  So when I read that the American Jewish Committee was encouraging people of all faith to #ShowUpForShabbat the first Friday and Saturday after the Pittsburgh tragedy I decided to attend to reject hate and show my support against anti-Semitism.  Many Jewish organizations in the country were taking part in this appeal (and in other countries too.)  I found a synagogue in West Cobb County, not far from my home, and I showed up for Shabbat that Friday evening.  I had never attended a service in a synagogue and was pleased that the rabbi gave many explanations about the programming of the Shabbat service.  It is a small synagogue but it was full with new attendees that Friday.  All of us, Jews and gentiles were happy to say "Shabbat Shalom."  (photos courtesy Temple Emanu-El, New York.)

The rest of my few days in Georgia went very fast as I gathered as much as I could again to give to charity or toss away.  But I am a long way from being done.  I did find another couple of bags full of vintage postcards.  Sometime it was depressing to look at clothes that my husband had worn on a special occasion.  I would take a few minutes rest and have a nice cup of tea - always comforting.  Luckily I had kept a few china mugs and cups in Georgia and some special tea.  Below is a picture of the Harney & Sons RMS Titanic Tea.  It was created with a blend of Chinese Keemum and Formosa Oolong as a commemorative tea to honor the 100th Anniversary of those who perished in the sinking of the Titanic (a portion of the sale of this tea goes to The Ocean Conservancy.)

On Sunday 11 November 2018 there was another commemoration, the Centennial of the end of World War 1.  This most terrible war ended at "the eleventh hour on the 11th day of the 11th month."  I had written a post on the history of WW1 on December 2, 2011, after having been in Paris when, for the first time, a Chancellor of Germany attended Armistice Day in Paris.  You can read it here
"Historical Armistice Day - 11 November in Paris."  In this post I explained the history and gave statistics: "In four years the number of military and civilian casualties came to more than 40 millions: 20 millions dead and 21 millions injured.  This number includes 9.7 million military deaths and 10 million civilian deaths.  As a point of reference, in four years the American Civil Was suffered 600,000+ killed. (Click on collage to enlarge.)

As another point of reference: since June 2003 there has been 4486 troops killed in the Iraq war - during World War 1 over 7500 troops were killed each week.  The scale of destruction of WW1 was enormous - whole generations were wiped out."  We need to salute those who served during this atrocious war and honor the millions killed and wounded in the conflict.  The Armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany in the Forest of Compiegne in France in a railway carriage at 5:00 am on November 11.  Six hours later, at 11:00 the conflict ended.

On July 14, 1919, there was a Victory Parade down the Champs Elysees in Paris honoring the Allied with General Pershing, Marshal Haig and troops from the United States, Belgium, The United Kingdom, from Italy, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Siam, Czechoslovakia, Japan, China and more - 31 countries had fought in the war.

In Paris on November 11, 2018, over 100 world leaders and dignitaries walked up the Champs Elysees in the rain toward the Arc de Triomphe to stand before the grave of the unknown soldier (President Trump did not walk with them on account of the rain but came separately.)  Notice that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not walk under an umbrella.  He had said during the commemoration of the raid on Dieppe where 907 Canadian soldiers were killed, 586 wounded and 2000 taken prisoner, that in Dieppe that day it wasn't rain, it was bullets.  Yo Yo Ma, the French-born Chinese-American cellist played the souful Saraband from Bach's Cello Suite No. 5, to the world leaders assembled there.  At 11:00 a minute of silence was observed, and then all the bells rang in churches all over France.  In his speech afterwards, President Emmanuel Macron saluted the memory of the soldiers sacrificed in the fighting.  He also said : "Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism" "Let's add up our hopes instead of opposing our fears!" He urged the assembled leaders to "fight for peace" by refusing "withdrawal, violence and domination," pleading once again for a multilateral approach to global governance at a time when more and more countries are inclined to turn their backs on it.  He ended his speech with "Long Live friendship between peoples, long live France."  (Photos courtesy Paris-Match.)

Then the 130 honored guests were invited to a luncheon at the Elysee Palace where Chef Guillaume Gomez (shown below) included the famous Bresse chickens and the potatoes from the Somme in the menu.  At the main table were seated Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Mohammed VI King of Morocco, King Felipe VI of Spain, Peter Cosgrove General Governor of Australia, Albert II of Monaco, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Denis Sassou Nguesso President of Congo, Idriss Deby Itno President of the Republic of Chad, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahou of Israel and many others.

For this special luncheon the Elysee had set their priceless porcelain china named "Oiseaux" (birds) created in 1758 by the manufacture of Sevres.  This porcelain manufactory was founded in 1738 thanks to the support of French King Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour.  It replaced the Meissen porcelain as the grandest of ultimate luxury favored by European royalty, the 19th century aristocracy and great collectors.

As part of the week-end ceremonies President Macron invited the world leaders to a "Paris Peace Forum" to discuss global governance.  Angela Merkel of Germany was present as well as Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan but Donald Trump did not attend.  He also did not participate, because of rainy weather, in the visit to the Aisne-Marne American cemetery in the village of Belleau were the US forces suffered 9,777 casualties including 1,800 killed.  France renamed the wood "Bois de la Brigade de Marine" (Woods of the Marine Brigade) in honor of the Marines' tenacity.  This is an historic battle for the US Marine Corps.  (US Veterans noticed that Donald Trump canceled this planned visit supposedly because it was raining, and were not pleased.  However, a French newspaper noted that someone had heard Mr. Trump saying he had no interest in visiting the cemetery and it would mess up his hairstyle.)  There are roughly 36,000 monuments in France honoring the fallen of WW1.  I showed many of them on my postcards in a 2014 post, look here .  This year the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, unveiled the new WW1 Paris monument to the 94,415 Parisians who died for France and the 8,000 missing in that war.  (Photos courtesy Paris-Match.)

I am back in Nashville now and will not return to Georgia until December because family will gather for Thanksgiving at my daughter's in Tennessee.  I wish a happy and festive Thanksgiving to each of you.

Clouds, the friendly skies and more ...

In my last post I explained why our trip to Orange County in California and back had been a challenge; click here if you wish to read it.  What was upsetting to me was that I did not remember the name of the person at Southwest Airlines who helped us find our lost luggage.  That made all the difference for our attendance to our daughter's wedding, the next day.  When we came back to Georgia I wrote a letter to Southwest relating our experience and asking if they could locate their staff member who had found our luggage and give her our warmest thanks.  A week or so later I received an email from Southwest acknowledging my letter with a reference number and a telephone number.  A couple of weeks later I did call the number, curious to see if they had found the luggage person.  I am not sure whether they had found her or not, but the SW employee told me she was sending me two vouchers for $250 each to be redeemed on their airline before August 2017.  Then another couple of days later, I received an email, from another PR Southwest employee, giving us 50% off saver coupons good on any of their flights, and valid until the end of January 2017.  Yesterday, I received another email from an executive in Southwest PR with profuse apologies about our challenging trip and an offer for reimbursement of any extra expense we incurred on the trip.  I had not even sent a letter of complaint, just a letter to express our gratitude to one of their team members ...

After all this I guess we have to get back on a trip in the friendly skies, -:).  I am checking Southwest's route for a possible destination for a short winter trip - somewhere warm.  I would not mind going back up in an aircraft to watch the clouds from above.  Looking at my photographs I noticed that I have a very large number of cloud and sky pictures, both from above and below.  Habits that one started in childhood are often kept throughout adulthood.  When I was a wee child in Paris - I am talking 4, 5 years old, during World War II, my mother and I would look out of the living room window (pictured below) to see if any German planes were flying our way.  Then later, every morning my mother would ask me to look out of that window to check the weather.  The habit was formed to look at the sky.  We would often walk up the 15 minutes to the Sacre-Coeur of Montmartre in Paris.  The view of the sky from the hill was striking.  When my parents bought the house in St Leu la Foret, a Paris suburb, I would hike to the forest top with my dog.  If the sky was clear I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.  Here in Georgia we are close to Kennesaw Mountain with a great sky view to Atlanta from the top of the mountain.  (Click on collage to enlarge.)

As I was looking often from the window mother would ask me: "Are you seeing some cumulus? Or nimbus? Or nimbostratus?"  Then she would add "You should know, you always have your head in the clouds ..."  My favorites are the cumulus clouds.  They are fluffy, look like cotton candy or even look like a nice head of cauliflower.  I also thought they resembled little sheep in the sky.  Below are the different types of clouds (courtesy US and French Wikipedia.)

I really was surprised at the number of cloud and sky pictures I have accumulated.  My husband looks at clouds every time we go shopping, or anywhere.  As I drive, he will tell me to look up at a nice cluster of clouds.  Often I have to stop, park the car and look up - then I take a picture.  I found many pictures of lovely cloudy skies from the trips we made.  It is difficult to choose from some of the pictures I took on our coastal voyage from above the Arctic Circle to Bergen, Norway, as the Norwegian fjords were breathtaking under any sky, any weather, as shown below.

Even if one is not of a poetic inclination, it is difficult not to become lyrical while looking at these beautiful clouds and skies from Norway.  A quotation from the Prince of Roeulx, of the Royal House of Belgium, comes to mind: "Clouds are fantastical dream machines - wondrous and magical, and in touch with infinity."

For about 26 years I worked in an aircraft manufacturing plant here in Marietta, at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Air Force Plant No. 6.  It is a huge facility containing about 4.2 million-square-feet.  There, I was the Customer Liaison in the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft division for about 15 plus years.  Then I worked for about 11 years as an Analyst in the C-130J Super Hercules' Supply Chain Management for one of our customers, the Italian Air Force.  The production floor is huge, with no windows, just two grand openings at each end of the building.  When I drove the trainees or customers to the various labs, such as the Avionics lab, or Power Plant lab, the first thing I did was to look up at the sky, always.  There could be one of our C-130s flying, or a C-5 ...

"There is a certain feeling of courage and hope when you work in the field of the air.  You instinctively look up, not down.  You look ahead, not back.  You look ahead where the horizons are absolutely unlimited."  Robert E. "Bob" Gross, Lockheed's Chairman/CEO 1932-1961.

I also like to look down at clouds while flying.  I never get tired of watching clouds, as long as there is light, rather than watching a film or using a laptop or iPad.  All these ethereal clouds let you imagine that you are in the land of dreams, with no stress or constraints, with infinity ahead.

Pictures must be taken quickly when flying over a group of clouds.  They pass by in an instant or change shape, from transparent to fibrous or silky.  They can be soft looking with opalescent colors or have a somber aspect, with menacing dark shapes.  They can form a halo or be quite dense, thin or semi-transparent.

Clouds have inspired painters.  Below are two such paintings.  On top left is Cloud by John Constable, English (1776-1837) next to Study of Clouds by Simon Denis, Belgian (1755-1813.)

They have also inspired poets and novelists.  Below is an excerpt from Marcel Proust's school writings, 1885-1886.  I'll translate it below. 
« Dans tous les temps, dans tous les pays […] les nuages ont dû séduire l’imagination de l’homme par leurs formes changeantes et souvent fantastiques. Toujours l’homme a dû y deviner les êtres imaginaires ou réels qui occupaient son esprit. Chacun peut y trouver ce qui lui plaît. […] Il peut découvrir alors dans les nuées […] toutes les fantaisies brillantes de son imagination exaltée. […]Ces belles couleurs de pourpre et d'or donneront à son rêve un éclat magnifique et grandiose  […] Puis, se laissant aller presque involontairement à une rêverie qui l’absorbe, l’homme oublie peu à peu les objets qui l’entourent ; ne voyant plus rien, n’entendant plus rien près de soi, il prête à son illusion le caractère de la réalité, donne la vie aux formes qu’il a devinées et assiste à un spectacle grandiose que lui-même il a créé. »  (Les nuages).

Translation:  "At all times, in all countries [...] the clouds had to capture the imagination of man by their changing and often fantastic shapes.  Man had to always guess in them the real or imaginary beings that occupied his mind.  Everyone can find in them whatever he wishes. [...]  He can then discover in the clouds [...] all the brilliant fancies of his exalted imagination. [...] These beautiful colors of purple-red and gold will give his dream a magnificent and grandiose radiance.  Then, almost unwittingly indulging in an absorbing reverie, man gradually forgets the objects that surround him; seeing nothing, hearing nothing close by, he lends to his illusion a character of reality, gives life to forms that he fancied and attends a splendid spectacle that he himself has created."  From "The Clouds" Marcel Proust, French (1871-1922.)

I just also realized that for a heading, when I started this blog, I selected a photograph of clouds over Newfoundland, Canada - I did not think about it until just now as I looked up.  I like to take pictures of cloudy landscapes whenever I see them.  Below are 3 pictures taken in Hawaii, (starting with the palm tree) then on the left column is Long Island, NY, above a bridge over the Mississippi in Memphis, TN.  On the right column, below the sunset in Honolulu is a beach at St Pierre et Miquelon, French island near Canada, then all the rest are pics of New York City.

We flew to New York City numerous times.  I was there for a visit in October 2001 - see post here.  Then we were there again in October, 2011, to visit the 9/11 Memorial, see post here.

 As I am writing this post, it is past midnight now, and it is September 11, 2016.  We remember that day with sorrow but also remember that we all came together in this nation, and many other countries joined us, people of all religions or no religion, to stand together to mourn the victims and to stand against hate.  It has been fifteen years since this horrible tragedy, but we will never forget, we still grieve.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Addendum -  We live close to Kennesaw National Battlefield Park.  This afternoon as we were driving around the north side of the mountain, near the visitors' center, we saw a multitude of flags.  

It was a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze.  We stopped and sat under the shade of an ancient tree and watched the flags waving in the wind.  They are there to remember and honor those who lost their lives on that fateful day.

My immigrant Story in The Guardian (and a Celebration)

As time permits I read about the news on the web and from a variety of newspapers as those shown in the collage above.  I don't read them daily but as often as I can.  In April and May I read stories on The Guardian in the Opinion section.  They were pieces written by immigrants to the US.  Below are some stories taken from my computer screen.

Then I noticed this caption: "Tell us how you got here ... We want to hear from the broadest possible range of people.  Young or old, from near or far ..." you can read the rest in my picture of my computer screen below.  Click on pictures to enlarge.

The immigrant stories on the newspaper were from people who had had a difficult life in their home country, such as the story of May 31, 2016, of a young man living in a refugee camp of 30,000.  Many of the immigrants to the US did not speak English well, such as Rossana Perez, story of April 5, 2016, who immigrated to the US from El Salvador when her husband was kidnapped.  Most people in the US now believe that immigrants are coming from third world countries only, are uneducated and a drain to the country.  At the end of May I decided to send my 200-word story to the Guardian to show that I came as an immigrant from an industrialized country - Paris is certain cosmopolitan.  It was not an escape, it was a choice.  I also spoke fluent English; please see my post "A New Year Party to Remember" about a party in London where I also mention my trips to England. Since a teenager, I had taken the ferry from Dieppe, France to Newhaven, England, almost a dozen times.  Below are old postcards of Dieppe harbor station.

The Opinion Editor replied that she was interested in my story and to send her a 600-800 words piece with some pictures, by the following Friday.  I wrote the story and sent her several pictures, which I'll show below.  I sent some from the time when I arrived in the US when I was young - my senior face is not as fetching!  I did not have a digital camera then and it was not easy finding old photos.  The caption under my photo on the newspaper story reads "I still remember when my hometown was liberated and Mother and I walked on the Champs-Elysees."  I was just a kid then and I did not think a picture of me as a child was appropriate for my immigrant story.  Photo below was taken around Christmas in San Francisco with my pet cockatiel Diego.

For several days I looked for my story in the Guardian but did not see it.  I thought that the newspaper must receive a tremendous amount of stories - what were the odds that mine would be published?  The Guardian is an English newspaper founded in 1821.  It has become one of the most visited news site in the world.  So I was quite surprised last Tuesday, June 14, 2016, to see my picture and story in the newspaper.  Below is a photo around another Christmas but with my pet parakeet Dimitri.

My piece had been slightly edited.  While reading some of the comments to my story I realized that the newspaper had used, in the heading, a sentence that was not in the printed story, but in my email to the newspaper.  When I sent my email containing my essay I told the Editor that I did not know if it would be of interest to readers since I had not been a destitute immigrant, uneducated and terrorized in Paris.  Even though I think it is wonderful that the US accepts immigrants (well, not that many anymore from Muslim countries) not all immigrants are refugees fleeing torture and certain death in their country.  I wrote that I did have a glamorous job in Paris, an apartment, a car and that, actually coming to the US had hurt me financially since I had a higher salary at my job in Paris than in San Francisco.  It did not matter to me because I had not come "for a better life" or in pursuit of the mighty dollar.  I had come to travel, for adventure.  Financial gain had not been my purpose.  This statement was not in my story so the heading sentence was confusing to readers.  I wish instead they had used "I came for travel and adventure."  But maybe happy stories are not as interesting to readers.  Below are two more photos I sent, taken in San Francisco around 1967 or 68, one with a little neighbor.

 Growing up in Paris, our apartment building was in a "Cité " made up of apartment buildings around a closed courtyard.  On the right side of the courtyard was the Metro Goldwyn Meyer studio in France (MGM-Paris.)  There, they showed films to distributors, repaired them, dubbed them, etc.  My little friends and I would play in the yard listening to the (loud) sound of westerns, horses, etc., coming from the always open studio window.  The boys in our group were the cowboys and my girl friend and I were the Indian maidens.  I got to really dislike cowboys (our boy playmates were rough) and decided that when I grew up I would go to the Indian country.  I came to the US to visit the country, learn the culture, visit Native American areas and listen to jazz, live.  I had a large collection of Blue Note jazz vinyl albums.  My favorite jazz artist was Thelonious Monk.  Money was never in the equation as I said above.  Below is the courtyard in Paris where I played as a child (located near the Sacre-Coeur of Montmartre.)

While traveling across the west I was very excited to visit the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana.  I was a bit sad that most of the reservations I visited did not look very prosperous.  Still now it is a treat for me to visit the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians at their Reservation near the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina.  I wrote several posts about it, such as Cherokee Indian Market and Festival of Native People.  By now I have visited 48 US states (not Delaware and New Hampshire) as well as the US territory of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean region (as well as Mexico and Canada.)

Here is the link to my immigrant story on The Guardian: 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/14/immigrant-coming-america-hurt-me-financially
I hope you will read it.

Having my immigrant story published this week was like a gift, in a way, since our 49th wedding anniversary is today, Friday June 17.  My dear readers may recall that I published a post in 2012 on our 1967 wedding in San Francisco and I included some wedding photos - click here to see the post again.  I wish that next year, in June 2017, we may be able to travel to San Francisco for our 50th wedding anniversary, but with my husband's illness, it is uncertain.  Today, to celebrate, we had lunch at a small Colombian restaurant called Kiosco.  First, we were served a garbanzo salad then my husband had Bandeja Paisa/Grilled Steak, Chorizo, Pork Grinds, Maduros, Avocado, Rice and Beans w/an egg ($15) and I had Cerdo en Salsa de Pimienta/12 oz Pork Loin Smothered in Black Pepper Gravy with Rice and Beans ($10.50.)  The food was good with generous portions.  For dessert my husband had the Tres Leches Cake, and I had the Coffee Flan ($5.50 ea.)  The restaurant is located near the Square in Marietta, next to the historic 1860 Murray House.

Before we left for lunch it had been quite warm - 93 F or almost 34 C.  But then a severe thunderstorm passed by and it cooled the temperature to 75 F or 23 C.  We sat on our back porch for a while.  Trees have grown so much in our backyard that it has become a green oasis.  We cannot see anyone around our house.  These is some color though because we placed our house plants outside about a month or so ago and they have come alive with new growth and flowers.  Even our Christmas cactus is blooming.

Looking up I realized that we had a mimosa tree now.  I had never noticed it among all the pines.  In France, a mimosa is a small shrub with bright yellow flowers with a delicious fragrance.  The Latin name is Acacia Delbata.  It was introduced in France in 1867 from Australia and now the shrub is growing wild in the French Riviera region.

The mimosa flower is so popular in France that several Provencal towns celebrate it yearly in spring with festivals and parades.  A medieval village is even called "Bornes les Mimosas."  It is one of the most florally decorated towns of France with its streets lined with flowers.

My mimosa tree is not the same; it is an Alizia julibrissin in Latin, also called a Persian Silk Tree.  The flowers look like they are made of pink silky threads above a white or yellow base.  I believe it is growing wild in the South and is invasive; there are many of these trees along our road.  We did not plant this mimosa tree, it just came up.  As I was looking up at the tree I saw a little butterfly hoping from flower to flower.

Before lunch my husband went to read in the front yard which is the only area with a little sun.  He planted herbs and flowers there in several pots.  There are some wild periwinkles among the weeds, too.

As I was taking his picture I could see something bright yellow in the distance.  It was a sunflower plant growing on the hill that had been clear cut of trees last January by the Water Commission (for an upcoming water main.) 

The sunflower plant had grown well out of the wood chips left from the cut trees.  It looked pretty and happy.  So I'll end this post with this happy flower.  After a week of hate, terror and grief in Orlando, Florida and in Britain, it may give us hope that some kindness and love may still grow around us just like this little plant did out of a bleak hill.