NPR did a story this am on The Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after WWII. It made me think of an incident on our last trip to France this past April ...
We were invited to a family reunion in the village of ??? in the Ardenne, Northern France. We were the last to arrive at about noon; Dinner was at 2 pm and again at 6 pm ; We left at 10 pm, and the party was still going strong. They served a delicious wild boar stew that some of the family members had hunted and killed in the surrounding Ardenne Forrest. These wild pigs forage on chestnuts, so they have a rich flavor! Food IS the national pastime in France.
There were only a few English speakers there, and they managed to seek me out to practice their English. Although my husband grew up speaking both English and French, I still understand and speak only English (though I've studied Latin, Ancient Greek, Yoruba, and Zulu).
In the opening remarks for the family gathering, the speaker said in English, "We want to offer a special welcome to our American friends here today. We are especially grateful to America because they rebuilt THIS village after World War II."
I was really moved and choked up by this--
1) because I wasn't expecting to hear English where most people in attendance were NOT English Speakers (She said it for MY benefit out of the nearly 200 people in attendance).
2) The family and people of this village are still grateful after 50 years!
3) In the US, we were such jerks after 911 renaming French Fries, Freedom Fries. (Those really were dark days that I would sooner forget!)
It reminds me that the US has done some good around the world, along with the bad.
It also reminds me that we've really created a mess in Iraq, and as much as I would like to bring the troops home and leave it, the lessons learned from history (Vietnam, WWI, WWII) say that we have to set up some provisions for rebuilding it, or they really will hate us forever. I just don't think we can afford it ...
People forget (or never knew) it was with the support of France that the American Colonies won the American Revolution so many years ago.
Sorry--I'm trying not to be or get too political with Hidden Passages. I'm stepping off my soap box, now.
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