Favorite Memories
I don’t know about you, but I find a long time goes by without giving a thought to my time in that dim and distant past in Paris. But every so often some smell, ambiance, sound will trigger a very tactile memory; usually something I would not have thought of if I consciously tried. A snipped of Piaf (trite but true), a lemon and sugar or (when I was flush) a Grand Marinier crêpe from the green stand at Grande Armée, the bow wave of the river as it wraps around a base of a bridge, a 2 cheveaux bouncing, the sound of a Mobilette or Solex (I heard these are being manufactured in China now). Unavoidable dog poop on the side walk, water rushing down the edge of the road, stark trees in winter, the smell of the Metro, café tables taking up a side walk, the condensation on the glass walls of a café in winter, human detritus of war panhandling. A sandwiche jambon and the shredded mouth afterwards, a whiff of Gauloise (seldom experienced anymore), a Gallic cold shoulder (also seldom experienced anymore), a blade faced guy with gold orthodonture and rimless spectacles yelling “Priorité à Droîte! Imbecile!” (happened more than once), seven flights of stairs, unspeakable stand up loo.s, battle ax harridans in the concierge booth, a great cup of café crème with a pile of sugar cubes (great then; not so much appreciated now), waiters who took you on sufferance. And so on. It was all the little tactile experiences that you can almost taste today when triggered. I wonder how much different they are for today’s AUP students. What are your memories, full blown or snippets too. Don’t hold back. We may share some of the same without knowing it.
