Beth Arnold

Jours of Our Lives: 31) THE LAST SUPPER

by Beth Arnold 

 

An ongoing series about uprooting our lives in America and moving to France. For what's happened before, see previous Jours of Our Lives entries here.

 

WE LEFT OUR luxurious little nest at Hotel Le Yaca as the real Bravades procession wove through St. Tropez. We could hear the fifes and drums while we loaded the car.  

Jim and I were having our Leaving Spat that couples the world over engage in whenever they’re trying to get out of town and go anywhere. This time it took the form of whether Jim should get in touch with a friend of a friend, who happened to live in the area. He didn’t want to do it, which was true to form. He knows that if I think something is important, I’ll do it. And in fact I did (and do) think that making contacts in a foreign country—expanding our circle—is  something that’s eminently worthwhile.

I admire this typically male behavior in some regards. It’s pleasing, as well as efficient, to do only what One wants, what One is interested in, and what is of the import to merit One’s  attention. But usually for us females (inevitably me), this leads to being knee-deep in One’s manure because it’s in my/our best interest for whatever it is to get done. Another appropriate appellation for wives could be “Pack Mules.” Hee-haw, hee-haw!

We wound through the hills and vineyards to make our way to Aix-en-Provence, which wasn’t technically on our Matisse itinerary—but Henri Matisse greatly admired the painter Paul Cézanne, who hailed from Aix, and had bought one of his paintings when the Matisses could ill afford it. Matisse kept the picture for many years as a touchstone of sorts, a prized possession that he wouldn’t part with, no matter what.

The Basket of Apples by Paul Cézanne. Art Institute of Chicago. (Image via Wikipedia)

Letter From Paris: Freedom and Ai Weiwei

Image of artist/activist Ai Weiwei via Wikipedia

Today on this American Independence Day I'm celebrating freedom.  Freedom meaning an absence of undue restrictions and an opportunity to exercise one's rights and powers: freedom of speech or conscience; freedom of movement.  Freedom to create and display art.

I zipped over to London a couple of weeks ago (where I attended film school) and found one of the highlights of my trip at beautiful Somerset House.  It was there in its historic courtyard that I saw the 12 bronze animal head re-creations that Chinese artist/activist Ai Weiwei stunningly produced of the traditional Chinese zodiac sculptures which once adorned the fountain of Yuanming Yuan, an imperial retreat in Beijing. These incredible heads (which were displayed until June 26th) surrounding Somerset House's sparkling fountains were made more powerful by the fact that Ai Weiwei had been detained by Chinese authorities on April 3rd.  While I wandered the open courtyard admiring Ai Weiwei's fine work, he was imprisoned.

Chinese officials said they had detained him on suspicion of "economic crimes," but as we know from past experience, what Chinese officials say doesn't accurately reflect a freedom of speech or a freedom of press reality.  From The Guardian...

He (Ai Weiwei) is the most high profile of dozens of activists and dissidents arrested, detained or harassed in recent months in what campaigners called China's most severe crackdown on human rights in over a decade. Several are still held and many of those who have been freed are understood to have been released under strict conditions.

Letter From Paris: Le Jardin Potager 2 at U.S. Ambassador's Residence

Image via Wikipedia

It is the time of year again for the earth to reward us with her bounty.  For tomatoes to hang lushly from green vines and fragrant lavender to show off her purple blooms.  The fields are alive, city pots are full.  This harvest of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs that taste like they're supposed to in this their natural season will provide building blocks for healthy bodies and mind. 

And so it was again with great pleasure that the Lone Wolf and I attended the second reception for the jardin potager ornamental at the residence of the American Ambassador Charles Rivkin and his wife Susan M. Tolson.  And for the second year in a row, Ms. Tolson presided over this event. 

You'll remember we went to this lovely event last year...

We were attending a reception in honor of the inauguration of the jardin potager ornemental (the organic herb and vegetable garden) for the American Ambassador's residence that Ms. Tolson had initiated to support the work of America's First Lady Michelle Obama and her organic vegetable garden at the White House. This movement called "The People's Garden" at the USDA is not just a symbol to encourage all of us to eat healthily and well and to care for the earth; at the same time it's also a living, growing reality that has crossed the Atlantic to Europe.

But this year the American Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was also one of the hosts.  And we were again honoring the students of L'Ecole du Breuil in Paris for their excellent work in creating The People's Garden in Paris.  This, of course, had been organized by Agricultural Economist Xavier Audran who engaged the students in this French-American collaboration so successfully.