Monday, August 2, 2010

Of Wild Boars and Wild Fruits . . .

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I openly admit, I was bad yesterday.
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Instead of going straight to work, on a fine summer Sunday afternoon, as I should have; I took a detour. I drove right by work, and went on down the highway into Paris.
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And in Paris, I indulged myself terribly. I had my camera. I parked the car. The next three hours were spent wandering in the Montmartre Cemetery, where people like Dalida and Zola are buried. (More on that soon.)
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And then, before going back out of Paris, and to work, I walked for half an hour in the streets near the Montmartre Cemetery, in front of the famous Moulin Rouge, and so forth. (See the windmill blades in the first photo here? That's the Moulin Rouge... "moulin", if you recall, is "mill", or "windmill" in French.)
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I also learned yesterday, that even in Paris one must be careful, because as is the case in many rural areas in France, there are wild boars loose. They can be dangerous if you bother them. They have sharp tusks. They make unintelligible grunting and squealing noises. Some of them have four legs.
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But, what I really wanted to share with you here, because that is what blogging is all about, sharing, was the fruit shop I stumbled on.
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Oh, those curvacious bananas ! Beautifully firm looking pineapples, and succulent grapes overflowing their crates like something from a Roman empire mosaic . . . Ripe strawberries and tangerines. Visions of watermelon juices running down my chin !
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And in case the weather gets too hot, thank goodness for the ice cream cooler there !
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PS . . . So imagine my amusement when just before I started composing this post, I read a response to a comment I had left last night over at the inimitable Lynne Louciao's Décolleté Glimpses. This is what Lynne had to say (!) :
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"Owen,
I've figured out why your straightjackets are so popular. It's because they're French straightjackets. All those peek-a-boo holes and black lace and velvet straps. Ooh-la-la. And the pair of attached fish net stockings make them look just that much naughtier. Just that much. Just enough to bamboozle the lunatic hordes into ordering more, more, ever more. Yes, the vision came to me as I was sitting here all bleary eyed and milk-of-amnesiaed, wafting about in this arty-farty existensial creative angst of the post-midnight hour. Seeing multiple comments by my imaginary brother floating before the burned out sockets of my zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
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Thanks for that Lynne ! ! ! You made my day ! ! ! I swear, you should open up a mind-reading shop !
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25 comments:

Steve said...

Very fruity!

CiCi said...

Ooh La La indeed. Your sense of humor comes through and makes me laugh. I for one am glad you drove past your work place into Paris and got some great photos. I would stop at all three places, lingerie and then pick up some fruit and then the ice cream.

Plum' said...

Tiens, pas de corset victorien, je suis déçue...;)
Pour me consoler, je prendrai une glace au chocolat !
Bises Owen...

Stickup Artist said...

See what happens when you play hooky from work! And go into PARIS, no less. What would Toulouse Lautrec make of this?

I laughed out loud after reading the text and then scrolling to the shop window and saw it wasn't only the weather that was overheated.

I love the dancing reds throughout the 2nd photo!

Both shots put me in mind of Hollywood Blvd.

Looks like a great place to hang out!

:: Karine :: said...

ton post m'a bien fait rire owen :-)
je l'ai cherché le "wild boar loose" et je l'ai trouvé ! ça m'a fait penser au livre où il faut trouver un tout petit petit personnage "où est charlie ?", tu connais ?

et que dire de la deuxième photo où tu expliques que tu baves devant ces fruits !!! et la vitrine owen, la vitrine !!!

je te bise mon owen adoré

Lynne with an e said...

You weren't being bad, Owen, you were obviously doing some design research for the straight jacket company and you have the fruits of your labour to prove it. Nope, I see Employee of the Month in your future.

Paris when it fizzles, quoi.

mythopolis said...

I would think that if I stared t that store front window, I would be getting hot. So Handy to have a cooler nearby.

Owen said...

Steve,
Would you like the fruits as they are, or mixed in a blender with ice to make a nice refreshing "smoothie" ?

:-)

Owen said...

TechnoB.,
Oh dear, I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to turn you loose in Paris !
:-)

Owen said...

K'line,
Viens donc, nous pourrions prendre une glace ensemble... pour la consolation... c'est moi qui l'offre...
:-)

Owen said...

Dear StickUp,
I think Toulouse Lautrec has seen racier fruits than these, through the green haze of the absinthe fumes in those Parisian nightclubs he frequented.

And remember, it's the fruit I was focused on...

Do they have fruit stands on Hollywood Blvd ? Not sure that I've ever actually made it to Hollywood Blvd. I've only been to the center of L.A. once I think, and that was plenty...

And if those reds were dancing, are you sure there wasn't a little earthquake going on, shaking the screen ???
:-)

Owen said...

Chère Karine,
Mais, de quelle vitrine parles-tu ???

Aimes-tu les ananas ? J'imagine à Maurice les fruits étaient bons... A la Réunion on s'est gavé de mangues et les fruits de la passion !

Ah, et je suis bien content que quelqu'un a su trouver le sanglier bien caché sur le mur plein d'enseignes là... Avez-vous des sangliers là où vous êtes dans le nord ? Des sangliers Cht'i peut-être ? Nous, on en a plein, il faut faire attention la nuit, car bonjour les dégats dans une voiture...

Sinon, "Où est Charlie", non, je ne le connais pas, va falloir que je cherche un peu. Je demanderai à la Grenouille...

Milles bisoux à toi aussi, peut-être tu aimerais te joindre à K'line et moi pour aller prendre une glace tranquillement le long d'un boulevard Parisien ? Ce serait avec plaisir...
:-)

Owen said...

Ah Lynne, I can't hide anything from you, you see right through me every time, as if I was wearing the Emperor's New Clothes. Yes, ok, call it research and development... With the emphasis on development.
:-)

How about an ice cream ? Sounds like a few folks here are ready for an ice cream... to celebrate the coming employee of the month ! Are you as good at predictions as you are at telepathy ? Can you tell me the lottery numbers for this coming week ?
:-)

Owen said...

Mythop,
Whatever you do then, don't stare at the window... find the wild boar instead. Are there wild boars in Tennessee ?

:: Karine :: said...

oh mais tu es un coquin owen adoré ! la vitrine à droite de tous ces beaux fruits :-) je sais que tu sais !!

oui à maurice nous nous sommes régalés de fruits exotiques

pour une glace, volontiers ... pistache-chocolat

bisou bisou

Gwen Buchanan said...

Those darn delectable fruits really do demand a lot of attention..very tempting...
...makes it difficult to keep your eyes focused.. haha ...

mythopolis said...

There may be some wild boars here, but I've never seen them. But the armadillos have migrated north so maybe the boars will too. Boar hunters here go to Arkansas and other points south to hunt boars...such a trophy hunter thing. Actually, a local pig roasted properly all night long on a bed of embers....now that's good eating. Squirrels here are good eating too. Especially the brain. Tastes sorta like a macadamia nut. Folks here sometimes eat groundhogs and possums...but these seem too fatty for me. Deer and turkey seem to be the most common game here, and now and then, dove. Dove is good, but I always feel conflicted about killing and eating a symbol of peace. Now, let's get back to the store window, and ice cream.

Amy said...

I love how you wove all these double meanings and tales together. I think you should divert from work more often. :D

Lydia said...

An interesting juxtaposition all over the place in this post. The boar and the blade. The fruits and the tarts! The synchronicity of your posts and Lynne's comments.

I cannot, absolutely cannot, imagine what it is like to have all this just down the highway from work. Thanks for sharing part of your day with us.

The Sagittarian said...

well, talk about having your ice cream melting!! Loved this post, I can see that our family reunion will be a fun one if we let you in charge of the tour de France!

The Sagittarian said...

well, talk about having your ice cream melting!! Loved this post, I can see that our family reunion will be a fun one if we let you in charge of the tour de France!

Anonymous said...

How I long to return to Paris ... as dangerous as it might be, spending six years here should make a good training.
And yes, even though these boas might be wild, surely way too alluring to leave unseen. Please have a good Wednesday.
p.s.: and yes, am usually working on Sundays as well.

Lynne with an e said...

What makes you think I don't already own and operate a mind-reading shop, Owen? Perhaps if you'd penetrated the depths of that naughty little lingerie boutique instead of lusting after the fruit you would have discovered a mysterious someone sitting behind a set of beaded curtains, gazing into a crystal ball, playing peek-a-boo with your psyche!

Nah. Just joshin'. We're waiting for you in the swing over at my place, hoping that you don't get too tied up at the straight jacket factory to make it over before all the good NZ wine and Fundy lobster is gone.

Anonymous said...

What a Joy ride,,Owen,if that is your idea of going bad....so welcome onboard my ship of "follies" that think that life has to be lived, and enjoyed, and sometimes to break the rutine,,that rutine, the biggest enemy of a dreamer soul. Though i know that freedom got to be lived with respinsability. But, that mischievous attitude is what bring a little condiment to life, plus, you can discover something great around the corner,,so, go on my Owen adventurer friend, i support you, and if you need ine day an allaby´or even a comrade,, yeah, count with me =)

Nathalie H.D. said...

Owen, "où est charlie" c'est "where's wally" et ça je suis sûre que tu connais, quand même ? C'est juste que tu ne connaissais pas son nom en français ?

Oui moi aussi j'ai trouvé le sanglier bleu. Il y en a plein dans les garrigues par ici mais je ne savais pas qu'il y en avait en côtes d'armor...


Excellent, ton texte sur le marchand de fruits. Je m'en suis régalée ! J'espère que la grenouille a apprécié aussi et que vous en avez ri ensemble :-)