October 14, 2009 – Odds and Sods #1 – A Tree Grows in …….

I can’t believe it. We are well into our 6th month living in Paris. And my familiarity with Paris has grown so much that it is hard to find the words to fill a blog or eJournal. Don’t get me wrong. I still pinch myself when I run past the Notre Dame Cathedral or get a couple of French “air-kisses” from my local boucherie when I buy my weekly meat from her open-air market stall. So I have decided to write about those little things that catch my eye. Yes, to be sure, there will be eJournal-worthy blogs to come but, for now, as I settle into an actual life in Paris, the big things that knock my socks off, are fewer and far between. But it’s the little things that catch my eye.

For example, on the block between our apartment and our fitness club, is a tree stump. It’s been there since we arrived. I must pass it at least twice a day; more when Katherine drags me out for a walk in the quartier. There are several full grown trees on this block in front of Place de Cluny but this one must have been hit by a car or bus.

I always remember this stump, which I named Brück-Lin and is ancien francais for stump. It just seemed odd that this stump remained. That the Mairie de Paris didn’t just gouge it out and plant a new tree. And then, one day, on the stump where the bark had come away and all that was left was that large smooth oval of under wood that, as a kid, I thought was the mouth of a tree, some artist had painted a face.

And not just any face. It was a sad face. And for emphasis, he drew one large tear falling from its eye. The tree was dead but the artist’s picture gave it life. Where else but Paris would some artist take the time to spruce up [forget the pun] this lifeless stump?

And so, for months, I would walk past Brück-Lin and smile at her painted face. Then, about four weeks ago, voilá, it sprang back to life. Little branches and leaves started sprouting. It was a sight to behold. The branches grew, more leaves appeared. There was life in this old stump after all. But last week…..another one of those massive, French, “we-have-nothing-else-to-do” parades occurred. And when I say “nothing else to do parades”, I mean that. Sure, we had the World War II parade; the Gay Pride parade; the Roller Blade parade; the best cheese in Paris parade [okay, I might be exaggerating] but the “we’re opening a new radio station” parade??? Give me a break.

And what made it even more surreal….it was larger than any of the other parades!! Tens of thousands of drunken French youths, dancing, drinking, smoking [yes], taking off their clothes [okay, that part wasn’t all that bad], puking, peeing, and standing on anything that would give them a better view of the parade….well, Brück-Lin just didn’t stand a chance.

I walked to the club the following day. Those newly sprouted limbs and leaves….gone. That tear in her eye…fitting, once again. Smashed and broken, she was a sorry sight. Katherine and I both thought she was mulch. But today, as we walked to the club, life was stirring. Just over her right “ear” was a bolt of green. I can’t promise she will live. You never know what other important parades Paris will have. But I can tell you this, a tree named Brück-Lin grows in Paris…