Day 78

East Bound and Down:  The Greatest 1:30 seconds in Musical History.

Should we stay or should we go?  That has been the debate for some time now and the decision is one that is weighing heavily on our hearts.  Since the whole crew was together this Saturday, it was time to do a bit of exploring.  Since we have made the decision to remove the children from the International School and throw them into a proper French school we are no longer tied to Madame Cabou's house of horrors.  Don't get me wrong, I have now done enough work on our maison here to make it quite liveable, but it is far from wonderland.  I suppose if the decision is to stay in town here, it suits us just fine and I would not endeavor to move within the city.  The real question is whether we uproot from the bustling metropolis for a more rural climate.  We would spend the morning exploring the village where my wife works.  Her commute back to our fair city is terrible and has her home close to 19 or 20h every evening.  This clearly does not allow for much family time.  This is a precious commodity these days given her busy travel schedule.  In fact, we are facing yet another week of absence as she will be spending the coming week in Paris.

The village in which she works is actually a fair sized town in and of itself with a very nice Centre Ville.  Good shops, nice cafes and a bit more laid back lifestyle.  The day was somewhat overcast, but the visit was pleasant all the same.  The bonus of being closer to her employer is strengthened by the fact that our current rental payment would pay for a MUCH nicer home.  The draw back?  Well, it is perhaps not as culturally diverse and full of activity.  The town is . . . sleepy.  It is nestled into the heart of wine country and surrounded by the chateaus that make the region famous.  It is also spitting distance from what I measure to be the most lovely town in the region that is a wine lovers dream.  With all the checks in the Pro category and only one or two lingering doubts, I think it time to consider a move.

We have explored the schooling options in our current locality and there is a very enticing option right down the street from Madame Chabou's.  My wife and the eldest ran down late in the day on Friday to check it out and upon their return, the eldest was sold.  Two reasons . . . Chicks and an open campus.  No more school lunch!  He could ride his bike home for lunch and then back to school for the remainder of the afternoon.  The other reason had him blushing a bit.  His appearance in the school yard had him instantly surrounded by a throng of young ladies who were quite eager to make his acquaintence and basque in his American accent.  With the improved prospect of chow at Midi and more female attention than he can shake a stick at, I can certainly see why he was so keen.  That being said, we still must consider the commute that keeps my wife tied to her desk of an evening.  So, the question still lingers, do we load up BANDIT 1 and head east or do we stay put?  Time will tell.  House hunting will likely crystalize the decision and we will keep you posted.

Since it would appear that Mothers day is not recognized here in France, we would celebrate on our own and our gift to Mom would be a brand spanking new bicycle.  The last of our crew to obtain a two wheeled steed, it was a long overdue purchase.  I am also pleased to report that we were able to convince her to free up an additional bit of change for a decent and proper bicycle.  Our hope is to take a family ride to celebrate Mom's special day on Sunday.  I hope it is a pleasant affair as I can foresee some scraped knees and elbows in our future.  I'm not talking about the kids.  Watching my wife wabble around the store on her new purchase made me think that perhaps we should purchase some additional safety equipment.  At present the only one with a helmet is our youngest and we can't afford for Mom to take a severe blow to the mellon.  We will see how things go because we all know from childhood lore that all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put humpty dumpty back together again.  I hope we survive the ride in one piece for my marital status is likely to depend on it.

My final thought for the day is this . . . I am very influenced by music and if I had any talent at all, it would be my chosen profession.  Alas some of us are born without talent.  It does not stop me from appreciating a well written piece of music.  While finishing my administrative tasks for the day, I ran across what I measure to be the greatest 1 min and 30 sec in the history of music.  Given my background and current circumstance, give it a listen and I think you will understand why it speaks to me.  The song is "Missouri" by David Ford.  You will find it on i-tunes and there is a great live version on youtube that appears to have been shot in someone's livingroom.  Enjoy and take care.

PS.  For ease of listening, I just added the youtube video to the blog.  The sound quality is somewhat poor since the video was taken on a blackberry, but I actually kind of like the distortion.