Day 44

Cycling in the land down under.

Today we would be hosting a luncheon at our home.  It all sounded a bit pretentious to me, but I would not miss the opportunity to meet some new folks.  That has been one of the real joys of our new life . . . the richness of cultural exchange.  Our guest today would be an Australian Physicist and his two young children.  His wife was one of the first people to be quite welcoming to me when the children first started school and at a chance meeting on Friday at the immigration office, it was agreed we should all get together over the weekend.  Unfortunately, she took quite ill yesterday and only her husband and children could attend.  With likeminded children being the focus of the afternoon, we decided to serve some relatively American fare.  Hearty potatoes and a polish sausage of sorts.  We have accepted many of the cultural nuances, so bread, cheese and a leafy salad were also available.  The Australian perspective is much like our own and it was refreshing to trade war stories for our new lives are quite similar.  They in fact only have a month on us and are going through some of the same cultural trials as we are.

Most of the afternoon was spent with the children being children while my wife and I enjoyed an intellectual exchange with a very academic gentleman from a land I desperately desire to visit.  Despite the absence of his wife, the lunch was a great experience and we enjoyed his company well into the early evening hours.  The most enjoyable part was to have children in our home that were as free of spirit as our own.  The weekend has been full and it has been rich, but I must now mention the best part . . . I finally purchased a bicycle today.  After much deliberation and hours of shopping, I purchased a british mark and will take possession of my new toy inside of 5 days.  I am quite excited and will try my best to continue to post even when I am in a full body cast as a result of an inevitable and horrific collision with a speeding smart car.

There is one other story I wanted to share from a day or so back.  You see, I am affraid Benji is dead.  Our lunch conversation today was filled with discussion of mountain biking and obesity among other topics.  Strange bedfellows I know, but if you know me at all it makes perfect sense.  We had discussed the fact that the French people are quite thin and it is very rare to see someone of sizable girth.  I recounted a story of a recent encounter I had with a rotund man on the street.  I was on my way to pick up the children when I nearly ran down a fat bearded man on a bicycle with my trusty 206.  He would have certainly made an impression on my lion badged front end.

Whenever you nearly extinquish someone from the earth, it is not your first impulse to make a lot of eye contact with them, but this gentleman caught my gaze and I simply couldn't look away for on the front of his bicycle was a basket and on this basket he had glued the decapitaded heads of nearly 500 teddy bears.  From the center of this carnage, I am almost certain I saw Benji's beady little eyes staring back at me.  I have been haunted by this image ever since and I feel compelled to seek this man out and attempt to rescue Benji from his unfortunate circumstance.  I will keep you posted as operation "Save Benji" gets underway.  I only hope that this doesn't turn into some sort of ugly ransom situation.  Don't get me wrong, I love Benji and all, but sometimes you can't negotiate with a madman.  à demain!