Remember when the TV would occasionally show a screen saying that they were having technical difficulties? We had a few technical difficulties in Paris in 2020. Looking back, I have plenty of things to be thankful for. I’m not among those who suffered because of health problems or financial loss. The regulatory regime was a […]
Living
Halloween and Terror in Paris – 2020
There is Halloween in Paris Owing to American influence, there are shops with costumes and decorations. In our neighborhood, we haven’t seen kids go door-to-door soliciting candy, though I buy some every year hoping that they’ll catch on. Spooky Halloween decorations cover the common areas of our apartment building. On the streets, they are already […]
Bloomsday in Paris
Bloomsday in Paris and the Origins of the Lilac Bloomsday Run In 1979, my mother-in-law Beth Shaw ran her first Lilac Bloomsday Run in Spokane, Washington. My first time was in 1988. This year is my 27th year of competing in the race. My wife Brenda has done it a couple more times than I. […]
“The Third Man” needed help from Peoria
With current restrictions in Paris on how and why we can leave our apartment, we’ve had to make adjustments in shopping routines, exercise routines, and certainly social routines. For instance, a couple times each week, my wife and I watch a movie together, sort of a date night for people in lockdown. Rather than choosing […]
Love in the Time of Coronavirus
Much of the news each day is devoted to describing problems with a new coronavirus, COVID-19, which has been spreading over the world since the beginning of 2020. Typically people try to ignore it, hoping it will go away. Then suddenly it sweeps through in a terrifying manner, and there is panic. Governments are left […]
Bonne année 2020!
2019 was our seventh year in France, the last year of the decade, our 30th wedding anniversary, each of our 50th high school reunions, the 50th anniversary of my swearing in at the Naval Academy, the 30th anniversary of my taking command of USS Buffalo (SSN-715), the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and the moon landing, […]