Parc Montsouris – Saturday September 10, 2011

I’m jumping ahead a few days and will do a flashback to the earlier part of the week later. We’re having our usual Paris problem – stay up late, get up late, lazy mornings, and late starts on the day – but it is vacation! By the time we got ourselves organized it was after 2pm before we left the apartment.

Today was a beautiful summer-like day with blue skies and a few clouds that appeared and disappeared without warning. We decided to continue our idle ways with a trip to the Parc Montsouris – (Park of the Mountain of Mice). But - there is no Mountain or even a hill. So why the name?

The theory is that there were many rodents when there was a gypsum mine in the area. The residents of the neighborhood would say – “The mice don’t bother me.” “Je m’en moque les souris.” Legend says the area first became known as Moquesouris then Mont Souris later – works for me.

Half of Paris was in the Park today – the hillsides of grass were filled with people enjoying the sunny day – this is one of those parks without ubiquitous “pelouse inderdite” signs. Sit on the grass without a problem. We found a nice bench by the side of the lake under a tree. We read, dozed, read, watched the parade of Parisians walking around the lake path, read, enjoyed the sun….idyllic.

This was “Kid City” today – but unlike the kids from Hell on the flight from San Diego – these were well-behaved kids having a good time. There were several birthday parties – one just behind us. Three adults with 10-12 kids – no problems!

If you wanted to participate in the walking parade around the lake, it was nearly required to have a baby – in a stroller, back-pack, toddling along hand-in-hand with mom, dad, grandparents – or all of the above. The variety of strollers was an example of great European design! A concession nearby had ponies so every once in a while we were treated to a “défilé” of a happy kid being led by mom or dad.

And now for something totally off the subject – or maybe not – there is a slight connection – in a stream of consciousness kind of way….

Plane to Paris, Movie on Plane, Midnight in Paris, 1920s authors, reading by the Lake in Parc Montsouris.....

I almost never watch a movie twice – very few exceptions. But – Midnight in Paris is one I have now seen twice. Woody’s homage to Paris and the Lost Generation is a favorite. I was hooked from the opening scenes – a travelogue of the City of Light – to the clever inclusion of the artists and writers of the ‘20s. I’ve added a few works from the Lost Generation on my Kindle to keep in the mood.

Today I was finishing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise when I ran across this conversation between Amory and his friend Tom - and it reminded me of our own times.

“People try so hard to believe in leaders now, pitifully hard. But we no sooner get a popular reformer or politician or soldier or writer or philosopher…than the cross currents of criticism wash him away. My Lord no man can stand prominence these days. It’s the surest path to obscurity. People get sick of hearing the same name over and over.”

“Then you blame it on the press.”

“Absolutely. Look at you; you’re on…the most brilliant weekly in the country. What’s your business? Why, to be as clever, as interesting and as brilliantly cynical as possible about every man, doctrine, book, or policy that is assigned you to deal with. The more strong lights; the more spiritual scandal you can throw on the matter; the more money they pay you, the more people buy the issue.”

Written in 1920 – still sounds familiar!