My kindest wishes to everyone. May the forthcoming year be your best and may Peace return and remain.
I posted many articles on Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, etc. All can be found by clicking Feasts and Liturgy. It’s a page. The Greek kōmos (comedy) and the Roman Saturnalia were Paganism’s celebration of the longest night.
Saturnalia (1783) by Antoine-François Callet, showing his interpretation of what the Saturnalia might have looked like
I have translated this song literally rather than poetically. A poetic translation may not have provided a clear connection with the words. Yet, although simple, this song is poetry.
Quand on partait de bon matin When we left early in the morning Quand on partait sur les chemins When we left biking on paths À bicyclette Biking
Nous étions quelques bons copains We were a few good friends (lads) Y avait Fernand y avait Firmin There was Fernand there was Firmin Y avait Francis et Sébastien There was Francis and Sébastien Et puis Paulette And then Paulette
On était tous amoureux d’elle We were all in love with her On se sentait pousser des ailes We could feel wings growing on us À bicyclette Biking
Sur les petits chemins de terre On little dirt roads On a souvent vécu l’enfer We often lived hell (as though in hell) Pour ne pas mettre pied à terre Not to put a foot on the ground (Trying not to put a foot down) Devant Paulette In front of Paulette
Faut dire qu’elle y mettait du cɶur Must say she put her heart in it C’était la fille du facteur She was the mailman’s daughter À bicyclette Biking
Et depuis qu’elle avait huit ans And since she was eight years old Elle avait fait en le suivant She had (biked) just following Tous les chemins environnants All the neighbouring paths À bicyclette
Quand on approchait la rivière When we neared the river On déposait dans les fougères We’d put (our bikes) down on the grass (literally: fern) Nos bicyclettes Our bicycles
Puis on se roulait dans les champs(se rouler: to roll) Then we rambled in the fields Faisant naître un bouquet changeant Creating a changing bouquet De sauterelles, de papillons Of grasshoppers, butterflies Et de rainettes And tree frogs
Quand le soleil à l’horizon When the sun on the horizon Profilait sur tous les buissons Profiled (drew) on all the bushes Nos silhouettes Our silhouettes (shadows)
On revenait fourbus contents We came back exhausted but pleased Le cœur un peu vague pourtant But our heart a little confused (vague) De n’être pas seul un instant Not to be alone a single moment Avec Paulette With Paulette
Prendre furtivement sa main To steal her hand (unseen) Oublier un peu les copains To forget our friends a little La bicyclette The bicycle
On se disait c’est pour demain We’d say, perhaps tomorrow J’oserai, j’oserai demain I will dare, I will dare tomorrow Quand on ira sur les chemins When we go/ride on the paths À bicyclette Biking
I am in Magog. Two posts are ready, including a song I have translated, but I must eliminate spelling errors and repetitions. I repeat entire statements.
My next post is on La Fontaine’s Preface to his three collections (recueils) of fables. It will be published in Magog. Analysing La Fontaine’s Preface was a difficult task because he uses obliqueness. He had offended Louis XIV by pleading mercy for Nicolas Fouquet.
You have no idea how much I worked to make sure the initial rule is reinstated. I had to part with my car because I could not clean it before before 8 o’clock and take it away from the outside parking lot. People who fail to clear their car are fined by the managers. Last year, I took taxis to emergency rooms week after week. My doctor would not treat me. My nephew drives me to Magog for short stays, and my groceries are delivered to my home. I’m managing, but when my little car left, I lost my wings. I do not leave the apartment.
I have searched the web for an apartment for John and found that he would have to pay $2,000 a month for facilities that compare favorably with his current apartment. Retired people often live on a very limited income, about $19,000 per year. In fact, many people do not retire.
As for my audacity with the syndicate, it may turn into a benefit, but not entirely. I pity the owners of two- or three-bedroom apartments who have secured two or more parking spaces in the basement garage. Yet, they have no right to occupy more than one parking space in the garage. The architects should have designed a two-floor basement garage, but they did not and now is too late. The rule is one indoor parking space for each apartment. John cannot clean his car. I watch luxury cars exiting the garage.
Volodymyr Zelensky is in the United States and he has won further support from both parties: the Democrats and the Republicans. The world is threatened.
Bikes for Migrant Farm Workers (Photo credit: Marissa Tiel)
—ooo—
The gentleman whose photograph sits at the top of this post is Steve Nicklen. Steven is married to my niece Susanne Lebrun and they have two married children: Jacob (Jocelyn Evans), an engineer, and Jessica (Dustin Smart), an artist and a photographer. They live in British Columbia‘s Fraser Valley (Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, etc.) and in Vancouver. My family moved to British Columbia when I was a High School student. I have a sister, a widowed brother-in-law, and five nieces who live in British Columbia, where I studied and married. I cannot afford to go back to the West Coast.
Steve Nicklen repairs old bicycles and gives them to migrant workers who would otherwise have to walk several kilometers to get their groceries. My nephew met Dr Roger Page who “spends his evenings visiting farm workers and writing their needs.” (See “Under the Helmet” below).
These migrant workers are excellent people, but they must travel a long distance, dangerously, to earn a meagre living. They are at times separated from their families for a long time. My nephew fears for the safety of these workers and wishes for them to be part of the community. The Migrant Workers remind me of the voyageurs. In fact, Steve is a Nicklen (Scandinavian) and a Dicaire (French-Canadian). There were Dicaires among the voyageurs. When these men lacked a waterway, they carried the fur, their supplies, and their canoes on their back. They hated portages (carrying) and jumped the rapids to avoid them.
Steve studied computer science and worked for nearly three decades in this area. Sensing the approach of a burnout, he discussed matters with his family and they agreed that his resigning was not unrealistic. It hasn’t been. He loves his new life. He works for the Coquitlam Public Library, but his main occupation is restoring bikes and providing migrant farm workers with a means of transportation.
Other volunteers, in Calgary (Canada), the United States, the United Kingdom, also collect bikes for workers elsewhere, but Steven specializes in repairing bikes. Moreover, Fraser Valley migrant farm workers are provided with a helmet, reflectors and “needs written” in Dr Page’s notebook.
I am not providing several links to Steven. The links I have provided lead to other links that tell the whole story. Steven has both a public and a private life. In fact, I barely use social medias. I have been the victim of an international group of hackers. The bank saved me locking my account. It is still locked. It was a devastating and paralyzing experience. So, I am now afraid of using the internet. Besides, remembering passwords is difficult. There are so many.
That’s a wrap for 2022! It’s time to clean up the shop, build a new workbench and start collecting and fixing bikes for next year #donateyourbike
Conclusion
These are difficult times. Russia has attacked Ukraine and Vladimir Putin will not negotiate. European countries need Russian oil: that is dangerous. The price of everything is rising everywhere. We must try to stay away from the unrelenting soap opera featuring members of Britain’s Royal family. Finally, Liberal members of parliament are trying to help Quebec’s anglophones. Canada is a bilingual country.
I will go to Magog and create passwords. Sadly, John must leave his lovely apartment. He was renting. He cannot come here unless I move to a larger apartment that has a basement garage space. There was only one per apartment. Mine was sold. John suffers from Ménière’s disease. He drives short distances and very slowly. His car must be inside, not outside, so driving is not a source of stress. I still have a valid driver’s licence. Don’t worry. John is a very good friend. I will make sure he has a home, privacy, care, and a warm place for his car.
As you know, I wrote posts on every play Molière wrote. Molière is a major writer. In fact, the French language is often referred to as la langue de Molière. Quotations were in both French and English, and each one was followed by a link taking readers to the entire play.
Toutmolière.net / Molière 21 has been removed from the internet. So, links following my quotations no longer lead to the complete play. I believe a few of my posts are entries.
However, I hope sincerely that the toutmolière.net/ Molière 21 site will be reintroduced among necessary entries. I so enjoyed using these toutmolière.net.
English translations of my quotations were taken from an Internet Archive‘s translation of the plays of Molière. I had chosen Henri van Laun. The print is small but it can be enlarged. The full texts of certain plays is available courtesy of the Gutenberg Project, Wikisource, and other sources, but most of my Molière posts no longer have a link to the French text and I fear readers will not “run around.” A teacher’s presentation of a work is a key source of learning. Illustrations are also very important.
Many people are confined to their home or bed. They cannot go to a library or a bookstore, because there is no convenient transportation. Some are blind or have poor eyesight, so audio books are important. Henri van Laun was an excellent moliériste and translator. The print was small, but it could be enlarged.
I hope toutmolière.net /Molière 21 will reinsert Molière’s plays on the internet so people reading my 82 posts will be able to read more than its short quotations.
My doctoral thesis has been published on the internet by the University of British Columbia. However, the copy that was used has many spelling and surface errors. I will correct these.
Messieurs, je vous en prie, rendez-nous toutmolière.net.
We will survive. I was going through my Molière’s plays because I would like to present more fables by Jean de La Fontaine. Molière and Jean de La Fontaine were good friends and the same age. Both were influenced by Rabelais.
Belaud was three months old when he entered my life, but he died in 2019. When I first saw him I thought there could not be a lovelier kitten.
However, for the first two weeks, Belaud was in mid-air. He was flying. I think he was nervous. He didn’t know me and he had just left his family. I could not go and meet Belaud, but the breeder sent me a picture of his father, Tennessee, and she told me Belaud would look like Tennessee. His mother was an aristocrat. She had a very long name.
Belaud was my second chartreux. There was a previous Belaud: Belaud I. Chartreux look almost the same, but my first Belaud was more dependent on me. Everytime I left the house, he looked worried. Fortunately, he was with Mouchette. They played together. They were lovely to watch. My house was not very large, but it had more space than we needed.
This is a strange time in history. There is not a single chartreux available in Quebec. I would have to fly to France to find Belaud III, but even French breeders have been affected by Covid and I could not afford to fly to France, not at this point. The markets are fluctuating.
The above photograph was taken in Magog. Magog is less than a half-hour drive from Sherbrooke. Chartreux enjoy cars. The law demands that cats be inside their carrier, but with chartreux, the carrier protects the chartreux.
I did not live in this building when Belaud was adopted. I wanted to move, but decided not to do because I was not feeling well. I lost the former apartment to a dishonest realtor and an unconscionable lawyer. I asked the lawyer to phone the realtor and explain that I wasn’t feeling well. It ruled out moving to a new home. I didn’t pay his bill. It was the beginning of emphysema. It causes shortness of breath, but it is not a great obstacle.
This building I live in is perfect for an aging woman, but it is a smaller apartment and it needed and still needs renovations. Moreover, it could not accommodate hundreds of books. So, I have missed my former apartment.
I am looking for a third Belaud, but I may not find one.
The war in Ukraine has not ended, so I believe this will be a humble Christmas. The days are getting shorter and the light will return.
December brings the longest night and promise for a better year. I’m still here. My eyes have returned to their normal color. Both are hazel, and I see perfectly well. However, my ability to concentrate has lost ground. It started declining when I developed chronic fatigue syndrome/ME. That is a very long time ago.
The word for Magpie, une pie, is not flattering, but Monet had yet to see this landscape. I’m working, but time passes so quickly.
I heard rumors that Canada’s Province of Alberta wants to renegotiate its relationship with Ottawa. Quebec has language laws, but separatism is no longer seen as the best option.
Alberta is a rich province, and the Rocky Mountains begin in Alberta. However, the Rocky Mountains have several ranges.
May the new season bring peace and chase away viruses.
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