Paris

I’ve had my mind on Paris lately. And not just any Paris but The Paris in France. You see, I am writing a novel. My protagonist is an artist who travels to Paris to study art. This lyric came out of that.

Let’s go, let’s go to Paris
Adam said to Eve
One bite of the apple
Now we have to leave

We’ll see the hanging gardens
In old Babylon
We’ll pray, facing Mecca
And Jerusalem

We’ll climb to the mountain peak
Mount Fujiyama
We’ll sit at the great stone feet
Of Buddah Gautama

The pyramids and the sphinx
We’ll see from the Nile
Dance ”round the stones of Stonehenge
For a little while.

We will wash our bodies clean
In River Ganges
At the Machu Picchu
We’ll  watch the sun rise.

And we’ll sample the pastry
That is the City
Of light, flowers and perfume
And l’amour Paree

On a Sunday afternoon
Bread and cheese and wine
On the banks of the Seine
And chocolat sublime

We’ll tour the Eiffel Tower
And Mona Lisa smiles
We’ll eat ratatouille
And stroll Parisian style

Visit the Sorbonne and Versailles
The Left Bank and the Right
The culture and the fashion
And lovely Paris at night.

A Yodelling Fool

I’ve thought that I’d like to traipse off to Liechtenstein and learn how to yodel when I retire. Sounds kind of impractical, doesn’t it?

Then again yodelling worked for Slim Whitman. His yodel can be heard in Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks”. It’s what destroys the aliens. So I guess there is a use for yodeling after all. Not that I would ever have that opportunity. I’m a real chicken when it comes to invasions.

I hear Liechtenstein is a very nice place. Run by a prince. At one time it was a part of the Roman province of Raetia. Now it’s a Principality. Seems like it would be a good place to retire. Not out to go to war or anything like that. Because it’s so small it has to go the extra mile and get along with its neighbors. It’s the big ones you have to watch out for these days. Like China, Russia and the United States. The bigger the country the bigger the army.

Unless you’re Canada.

A very civilized country, Canada. Lovely people, the Canucks. Didn’t get mad at all at the movie “South Park” and the song in the movie “Blame Canada”. One of the great exports from Canada, The Mackenzie Brothers. Love their “Twelve days of Christmas”.

They had a really fun movie “Strange Brew”. Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot all from Canada. So is Jeopardy Guy, Alex Trebeck.

But all that’s another story. Back to Liechtenstein. The Prince’s family goes all the way back to the twelfth century. And that is a lot of way to go back to. Something like nine hundred years. To have lasted that long and ruled a country you must have something going for you.

Think the country is where Leonard Wibberly based his novel “The Mouse That Roared”. As usual, Peter Sellars was very good in the movie, invaded the United States and all.

Liechtenstein it seems used to be called Vaduz and Schellenberg. Till the family bought them from the Holy Roman Emperor. Seems he was in need of some cash as emperors  usually are. Once they had some land, the family could be taken seriously. These days the country has a low corporate tax so it is overrun by successful businesses. So it should be easy to get a job if I need some extra retirement cash.

‘Course a yodeling gig might just be the thing for a retired Uncle Bardie.

New State Nicknames

Been thinking the States all need new nicknames. The old ones have become a bit worn out. So here’s a list I am proposing:

Alabama, the “between Mississippi and Georgia” state.

Alaska, the “I can see Russia from my house” state.

Arizona, the “wanna see our sinkhole…it’s a canyon” state.

Arkansas, the “Bill Clinton, need I say more” state.

California, the “who’s afraid of the big bad earthquake” state.

Colorado, the “our pot is better than your pot” state.

Connecticut, the “who can spell me” state.

Delaware, the “we’re bigger than Rhode Island” state.

Florida, the “we do know the difference between a dimple and a chad” state

Georgia, the “we have real pits in our peaches” state.

Hawaii, the “we’ve got lu’aus and surfing, what have you got” state.

Idaho, the “can you take some of these potatoes off our hands” state

Illinois, the “our President Lincoln was better than your President” state

Indiana, the “you spell it backwards and you’ve got anaidnI” state.

Iowa, the “we start the whole mess every four years, would you please forgive us” state.

Kansas, the “when you’re in Kansas, you know you’re in Kansas” state

Kentucky, the “wanna race” state.

Louisiana, the “oh, no, not another hurricane” state.

Maine, the “Stephen King scares us too” state.

Maryland, the “we’re in the Navy” state.

Massachusetts, the “home of the Boston cream pie, don’t you wish you had a pie as good” state.

Michigan, the “we’ve got four Great Lakes, how many do you have” state.

Minnesota, the”oh geez bet it’s gonna be cold tomorrow” state

Mississippi, the “we’re right next to Alabama” state.

Missouri, the “we can show you the way to Kansas, Dorothy” state

Montana: the “we warned Custer and he just wouldn’t listen” state.

Nebraska, the “Warren Buffet lives in our state” state.

Nevada, the “get married and divorced in 24 hours” state.

New Hampshire, the “can’t get more Yankee than us” state.

New Jersey, the “we’re really not that bad, we just play it that way on TV” state.

New Mexico, the “hey, come see our balloons” state.

New York: the “youse guys” state

North Carolina, the “we got nice mountains” state.

North Dakota, the “wish I was South Dakota” state.

Ohio, the “we’re named after a river, what are you named after” state.

Oklahoma, the “I’m just passing through” state.

Oregon, the “we’re just below Washington” state.

Pennsylvania, . the “nobody steals our stealers and we have the authentic cheese steak” state.

Rhode Island, the “yes we’re here.. just look really hard” state.

South Carolina, the “if you wanna be a Republican president, you better win our state” state.

South Dakota, the “I wish I was North Dakota, y’all” state.

Tennessee, the “state where al gore invented the internet and discovered global warming” state

Texas, the “our jack rabbits are bigger than your jack rabbits” state.

Utah, the “our capital is named after a lake” state.

Vermont, the “state where two hippies could make ice cream and name it after other hippies” state.

Virginia, the “older than all the other states” state.

Washington, the “rain and more rain” state.

West Virginia, the “we’re the only state that’s got west in its name, Kanye” state.

Wisconsin, the “our cheese really is cheese” state.

Wyoming, the “cow tipping” state.

A Slow Boat to China

The seagulls called the ship out to sea. The S.S. Majesty answered with three blasts of its horn. It was the ship‘s final call, urging the passengers to board before she packed up.

From the ship’s, Alice searched the crowd for John. “He will not come. I knew it.”
As she was about to give up and leave the cruise, she spotted John getting out of a cab. He paid the cab driver and grabbed his luggage.

She ran down the gangplank and called out to him, “I’m over here.”

He saw her and lugged his suitcases toward the ship.

“Hurry,” she said.

She wrapped her arms around and gave him one of her best kisses. “I didn’t think you’d be able to get away. But you did.”

“There was no way I was about to miss going away with you.”

She laughed, her anxiety slipping away. She glanced at his luggage. “You have everything?”

“I don’t need much.”

“You got your passport?”

“Passport?”

“Yes,” she said.

“I don’t have a passport.”

“You don’t have a passport? Get out of here. You have a passport.”

“I don’t.”

Alice looked at John with amazement. Alice pushed him away from her. “I’m leaving. I thought you were coming with me.”

“I am.”

“But you don’t have a passport.”

“We can go to Canada.”

“You need a passport to get into Canada.”

“Mexico?”
“Got to have a passport.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shook her head. “I’m leaving.”

Alice turned and boarded the ship. On the deck, she watched John slip away into the crowd.

A tall handsome man with the deep blue eyes sidled up to her. “I have a passport.”
She looked up at him. For approximately ten seconds, she was ready to swoon, then she came back to reality and stiffened her back. “You’re not my type.”
“What do you mean I’m not your type? Just what type do you think I am?”
“A man.”

Uncle Bardie’s Spotlight Movie: Italy in the Spring

Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight Movie is “Enchanted April” (1992):

Remember “Gilligan’s Island”. “Enchanted April” (1992) is not a three-hour tour. It is not a shipwreck. It is not “Gilligan’s Island”. It isn’t even “Survivor”. It could pass for “Under the Tuscan Sun”. Like that movie, it is a leisurely stroll through an Italian landscape that only be described as paradise.

How did four English women find themselves in Italy? A small ad in the newspaper. The newspaper was the 1920s version of the internet. For a small price, a person could see the world laid out before them.

Adapted from Elizabeth von Armin’s novel, the movie begins with two married women, Lottie Wilkins (Josie Lawrence) and Rose Arbuthnot (Miranda Richardson). They are stuck in England with some really lousy Spring weather. They see an advertisement offer to stay in medieval castle for the month of April. Not only do they get a castle, they get Italy on the Mediterranean.

When they see the ad, they say, “What fun.” At least, Lottie does. After some persistence, Rose is persuaded. Each has their own reason to get away from her husband for a month. Alfred Molina (of “Frida” fame) and Jim Broadbent (from “Topsy Turvy”) are the husbands Lottie and Rose leave behind.

Since it’s a bit expensive, the two of them ask two more to come along. Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright) is an older woman with her nose stuck in the air. Then she breaths in the Italian air and she is changed along with her three companions. Lady Caroline Dester (Polly Walker) is an attractive young aristocrat who is searching for direction.

Unfortunately, the Italian weather isn’t cooperating when Lottie and Rose arrive. But the next morning everything has changed. April is April and Italy is Italy. “Were you ever so happy?” Lottie asks Rose. Then the two come across Mrs. Fisher who speaks an “an ancient Italian, the Italian of Dante” and Lady Caroline who speaks “the kind of Italian the cooks understand”. I would say that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. But you’ll have to find out for yourself.

And what happens when the men show up.

If you are partial to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, this one is for you.