French Country Travel Life Legacy – Part Three
French Country Travel Life Legacy – Part Three brings us futher along the road of this saga’s adventure.. PARTS ONE and TWO may add to your understanding/enjoyment/desire to nominate me for the pulitzer.
Like Klimt inVienna, Paul was “born at the right time.” My take anyway – considering when I was born. But then isn’t every fascinating period of History we never lived through “the right time?” Especially when we know someone who did? (tee-shirt idea – “NOW is the right time!)
Paul knew(and turned down an offer to work with) the legendaryFrank Llyod Wright. Ditto Paola Solari the “visionary” who created (the World’s first?) “eco city” in the Arizona desert. However Paul did advise him. For free.
Peyote with the Indians? Commissions from Heads of State Worldwide? Rafting the Amazon? Designing affordable inner-city housing? Rapping with Kerouac? Been there. Done that. Got the tee-shirt.
The best sunsets at Chez Paul arrived courtesty of L.A. smog.(Probably the only benefit, n’est ce pas?) For whatever meterological reason the noxious gases that regularly caused L.A. schools to close – opened our eyes wider with a cavalcade of irridescent colors.This was our “apero entertainment” as we caught the last rays of the day.
With his mirror shades and full head of steely gray hair, Paul was every inch the Hollywood prototype of Worldly “tough guy.” Add the wirey frame and working man’s jeans, and it wasn’t hard to imagine this is how James Dean might have aged.
Paul didn’t say much during our “patio sunsets”. But, to paraphrase Spencer Tracy’s description of Katherine Hepburn, what he did say was “cherc.” Particularly about his first wife, Ravi. Clearly the great love of his life. A native of the Ivory Coast, she met Paul during his time there helping to create housing for the locals. As her’s was one of the families Paul had helped, she wanted to give him a thank you gift.But no cash in the cupboard.
So Ravi presented him with a family heirloom. Small. Fragile. With a unique understated beauty any artists would appreciate. A glass. A (soon to be) Whiskey glass. The one Paul now cradled fondly as he silently tracked it’s History. Bathed in sunset’s last gleaming.
THROW ME A BONE HERE, PEOPLE!
What are ya thinkin’?
such a beautiful story……hoping for a hppy ending!
this post is yet another level of excellence from DA BG. Long may you write!
simply one of your best!
amelie – totally agree – would hate to be the one having to edit a “Best of DA BG” book!
as tohers have, i’m sure commented previously, the “suprise” factor, plus the quality of your writing keeps me coming back for more. And once here, wanting more.
what an utterly fantastic guy your friend Paul was. hollywood couldn’t have invfented a guy like him!
hey bg…nominate you for the pulitzer – NO PROBLEM!
I agree with Andy – a pulitzer for DA BG is long overdue!
one of your other commenters said this was like a hollywood movie…why not write a screenplay on this? (or have you already?)
i’m with ya there carol….great idea!
what i love most about your writing – and this post is a great example – is the way you effortlessly pack some much information into each short paragraph….
sylvan…..completely agree….and would like to add that you never feel you’re being overloaded.
i’m hoping this, and other BG tales of this calibre will be available as a book. SOON!
amen bains!…AAAAAAAMEN!!!
your friend paul certainty was “born at the right time” for him – considering all the adventures you’ve described here.
don’t know about your other readers….but almost every time i read one of your posts i learn something i didn’t know!
absolutely gerri!…..for me this time it was “klimt” – the artist
same for me amy…..sure i’ve seen his stuff before…but never really connected the name.
I agree ladies…there is much…even non french info to be gleaned from DA BG.
all great, of course….but i especially liked the spencer tracy bit!
barry i dug that too…how does he come up with these connections?