The immortal British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson said it best when he wrote, “In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. Well, except of course in France, where he must take the ‘bac’ test, guv!” … Read More
Years went by. I struggled along in darkness, somehow making it from day to day even while suffering under a terrible burden — the burden of ignorance compounded by apathy and insularity. And it was good. I refer, of course, … Read More
As we all know, the French railroad network is a paragon of efficiency and technical sophistication, making it possible to travel to any sizable town quickly and at low cost. Which is why we were all surprised last week to … Read More
I’ve been thinking about Stockholm Syndrome, the psychological process whereby hostages begin to sympathize with their captors. Although I have never been subjugated by violent aggressors and forcibly held under horrifying conditions, except of course for high school P.E. class, … Read More
A rather hastily written article has been making the rounds on Facebook recently entitled “20 of the Weirdest Things About America That Americans Don’t Realize Are Weird.” Posted on Tickld.com by an anonymous and apparently British user under the pseudonym … Read More
All week I’ve been getting messages from readers who live in other countries saying things like, “David, is it true that French people are forbidden to think about work outside of office hours?” “Is it true that you can get … Read More
When I wrote part one and part two of this recurring feature in 2012, I thought that France in general and Paris in particular would yield a steady supply of strange phenomena for me to comment on, rather like the … Read More
Bad news for my mother: I’m a pornographer. Or at least that’s what Google says. But, mainly for the benefit of my mom, I can explain. In January 2012, I wrote a C’est Ironique about the sometimes-delicate dilemma of choosing … Read More
I was young. Inexperienced. Also clueless, foolhardy, resilient, tolerant of discomfort and blind to questions of personal safety. And stingy. You had to be all of those things to do what I did back in the early 1980s. No, I … Read More
Last December 31, I happened to be riding on a train along the coast of southern France. As I was gazing out the window, contemplating the year just past, the year to come, the sorry state of the world, the … Read More
