Potpourri

I noticed that in my post from yesterday (Saturday) that I didn't give a teaser line at the end, advertising what today's post would be about. That means I can talk about anything I want. Like potpourri. Everyone knows what that is: a mixture of dried flower petals and spices in a bowl to spice up the room. In a more general sense, it means a mixture of things or a medley, which is what I plan for today. Being a word guy, I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I looked up where the word came from. As is the case in 60% of all words in an English language dictionary, the word is French in origin.

That's right, Mac: 60% of the words that leave your mouth every day were invented by the French. "What?" you say, "you mean I have to give credit to those crummy Frenchies just for being able to call them crummy?" Well, actually the word crummy comes from the Old English word crumme, and so is one of the 40% of words not invented by those crummy Frenchies. My point is that while many Americans don't hold the French in high regard for a number of political and social reasons, we owe them a lot in regards to the language we speak.

It's time for a very brief history lesson: in 1066 William of Normandy (aka William the Conquerer) crossed the Manche (the Brits call it the English Channel) and won the Battle of Hastings, putting the Angles and Saxons (thus Anglo-Saxon) of England (Angle-land) under French control for 300 years or so. The battle is recorded on the most amazing tapestry, called the Bayeaux Tapestry, pictured above. The tapestry, a 270 foot long by 20 inch wide strip of embroidered cloth, was made in the years following William's victory, and is still on display in the town of Bayeaux, in Normandy. During this time of French dominance, if you wanted to make anything of yourself, you had to learn Old French so you could hobnob with the winners. Over 300 years, the Brits merged Old French with Old English, and by Shakespeare's time, the English we speak was essentially completely developed, borrowing 60% of its words from the French side.

Not to beat a dead horse, but most of the 3 syllable words you speak, and all of them ending in -tion, -cion, -ate, -ic, -ive, and many others are French, and can be used almost unchanged today (except for the funny accent) if you are speaking French. Most of the 1 syllable words in English are from Old English, which descended from Old Norse, Scandinavian, and Germanic languages. So next time you discuss politics (from OF politique), religion (OF religio), or culture (OF culture), realize that you have to tip your hat to the Frenchies regardless of how you feel about their actual views on politics, religion, or culture....

A bit of potpourri right there, I guess. I hope this blog doesn't resemble the word too much, though, since the word actually means "decayed material in a pot" (pot-pourri). Hopefully, this will perfume your mental room with a nice smell, not a stinky one. I do have one or two bathroom-related items, however.

Most dog owners in Paris are apparently on a mission: get Fifi around the required circuit and get back to the apartment in a reasonable amount of time so they can do other things. The dogs, on the other hand, have no mission save to wet every vertical fixed object within reach (like all dogs). Occasionally we run into a person without such a mission, and then Beth springs into action: "Oh! Tu est un gentil toutou! Comment tu t'appeles? Oh, tres joli!" and the like. Sometimes the Parisienne (usually a lady) will stop and let Beth pet the dog, giving her something akin to an addict's high, which lasts only until she sees the next dog....

What's the deal with bathrooms around here, anyway? Most restaurants have just one, a one-holer unisex bathroom in a closet smaller than the average dresser. No building inspector in the States would let these restaurants stuff their clientele into such tiny holes in the wall. At least the toilets themselves are very efficient, better than ours in the States. And the whole thing is a lot better than the "squattie potties" one finds in most of Asia. Chock one up for Western culture....

In French, a "blague" is a joke, a prank or a tall tale. Entirely coincidentally, it is pronounced almost exactly like the word "blog"....

We watched a bride and groom being driven down rue de Rivoli yesterday afternoon, followed by at least 50 honking well-wishers. They completely blocked traffic for 15 minutes or so. I couldn't help but think about the opening minutes of Gershwin's "An American In Paris" orchestration, with traffic noise and honking horns. Instead of shaving cream and tin cans, though, they had tied large bouquets of flowers to the grills of the cars, and pieces of lace to the antennas. Always tres chic, those French.

Family and home are very important to the French, and perhaps more so in the last few years. We spoke with the proprietor of a little boutique who was displaying Christmas ornaments. We remarked that we didn't realize that Europeans cared much about Christmas and other religious holidays, given all we read in the press about how secular Europe has become. She said that, especially since 9/11, the French have begun to focus a lot more on religious holidays like Christmas and Easter, not in the crassly commercial way we see a lot in the States, but by decorating more and earlier, and observing more of the traditions of the holidays. It's not exactly the Reformation all over again, but it's encouraging for those of us who think that the Christian religion has an important place in family life, as well as culture.

Tomorrow: people watching and the Da Vinci Code...