Happy Birthday Georges aka Baron Haussmann. If you like your cities with elbow room, leg room, you’ll like Georges.
His modifications transformed Paris dramatically: wide avenues, straight lines, more parks, room to move and enjoy. If you want to know what Paris was like before Haussmann, take a walk around London. The British capital hasn’t really changed its footprint since the middle ages. That’s why Londoners are constantly bumping into one another, being pushed off narrow sidewalks, getting lost in winding streets and never finding a bench or a park to take a break.
I’ll guide you to his final resting place on MyVoiceMap audio tours of the Père Lachaise cemetery, and tell stories from his life.
See funny pics and text from our picnic together in The Chairfather book.
The passed have never been more alive!
Book a lunch date with the fallen famous NOW!
Or later…
Really, it doesn’t matter. Their agendas are quite open.
It’s your Birthday Simone Signoret. The expression ‘En voiture, Simone’ meaning ‘let’s go’ has nothing to do with the alluring actress. It comes from one of the hosts on ‘Intervilles’ when they wanted to get the game started.
Anyway, in honor of Simone Signoret, I’d like to invite you to get in your car for two destinations. First stop, the city hall of L’Etang-la-ville. I’ve lived in the area for more than a dozen years, but only just found out that the suspense classic ‘Les Diaboliques’ was filmed there. It’s so cool to know I’m walking in her footsteps when I go to find out when the next village-wide yard sale will be taking place!
Next stop, Paris. I’ll guide you to her final resting place on my @VoiceMap tours of the Père Lachaise cemetery, and recite stories from her life.
See funny pictures and text from our picnic together in The Chairfather book. Find out why she slaps me, the wildcat!
The passed have never been more alive!
Book a lunch date with the fallen famous NOW!
Or later…
Really, it doesn’t matter. Their agendas are quite open.
The Catholics really know marketing. Before loyalty cards, they invented the concept of the ‘Saint day.’ Every saint has one, and most of them match common first names. So, unless you have an offbeat name like Moon Unit, or Dweezil, that means, if you’re catholic, you have a Saint day, too! You’re celebrated on your birthday and your Saint Day! Do you get TWO birthdays as a buddhist? I don’t think so!
Today is Saint Joseph. While not a catholic, I do live in France, which upholds the tradition. So, I’m allowed to usurp the day (and the accolades). No, you don’t need to get me a present, but downloads, likes and reviews for my tours and books are welcome!
I like my name. It’s versatile, with lots of spellings and diminutives like Joe, Joey, Jo-Jo, but never just ‘Jo.’ The French always want to turn me into a girl with that spelling, which I only accept on Saturday nights 😉 When they do include the ‘e,’ they say ‘Joé’ which is pronounced like ‘Joey.’ While kinda screwy in French, my name sounds good in English, and is pretty universal around the world: José, Josef, Giusseppe, Yusuf and Yossef.
Although Joseph did have the most irrelevant role in the Bible, he definitely deserves Sainthood in my book. While many of us consider the ‘Good News’ as just that, imagine Joseph’s reaction to learning that his wife was pregnant…
“So, honey, Mary, let me get this straight. We haven’t laid together yet, and you’re already pregnant? You ask me to take it on faith that you haven’t been with anyone else? How does that even work? And this child which isn’t mine, you expect me to raise him, feed him, and teach him my trade? Uh, well, OK.”
As a last note, a kind of ‘drop the mic and walk off the stage’ moment, I challenge ANYBODY to come up with a better all-time baseball lineup, all with the same first name:
P- Joe McGinnity
C- Joe Mauer
1B- Joe Adcock
2B- Joe Morgan
3B- Joe Sewell
SS- Joe Tinker (to Evers to Chance)
OF- Joe Dimaggio
OF- Joe Medwick
OF- Joe Jackson aka ‘Shoeless’
Manager- Joe Torre. By the way, on the bench I got Joe Garagiola, Joe Carter, Joe Girardi, Joe Kelley, José Rijo and Jersey Joe Stripp! Don’t mess with Joe!
Only one personality on MyVoiceMap audio tours of the Père Lachaise cemetery has the first name ‘Joseph,’ and that’s just one of his three first names. No bother, THIS Joseph visits all of them, and so if you wanna hear the goofy things I have to say about Hugo or the other 50 personalities I had lunch with, check this out:
See funny pics and text from my picnics in The Chairfather book.
The passed have never been more alive!
Book a lunch date with the fallen famous NOW!
Or later…
Really, it doesn’t matter. Their agendas are quite open.
About 15-20 years ago, I don’t remember, my sister offered me a pair of #Timberland hiking shoes for my birthday. I didn’t really hike at the time, but she heard that I wanted to, so she bought them for me. They were way more than I usually paid for a pair of shoes for myself, even my dress shoes for work cost less. I felt a bit guilty that she lavished this extravagance on me, when I’d probably end up using them only for rainy day dashes to the convenience store a couple blocks away.
As I was tramping through the mud in the forest near my home today, I was glad I had them on. Worn, but still comfy and useful after all these years, they’re the only pair of hiking shoes I’ve ever owned. Real wanderers have different boots for the terrain and the occasion. These are the ones I’ve used, regardless.
I started thinking about how long I’ve had them. Then, I thought about where they’ve been…
They’ve walked all around California, Lake Tahoe, Big Bear, King’s Canyon and Big Basin.
When I got lost on my first year in France, collecting chestnuts in the woods with my family until the dark enveloped us, they guided me to a residential neighborhood, where a kind soul drove us back to our car.
County Antrim in Ireland rose to meet them, as did the Giant’s Causeway, Fair Head and many bonny glens.
A very high railway in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, rode them within site of the Jungfrau and two other peaks, and the valley surrounding. They didn’t go to the top, but tread over the paths just below so I could take in the stunning view.
Of course, they’ve been all over France, including l’Aiguille du Midi in sight of Mont Blanc in the Alps. Both higher and lower Savoie. The Pyrenées mountains and perpetually wet fields in the Basque country. Yes, they saw Saint-Jean-de-Luz, on the path of the Chemin St. Jacques de Compostela, but no, they didn’t walk the trail. Someday. Lower elevations in Brittany, Limousin and Auvergne had them out wherever the land was rough, notably the craggy red rock coast near Paimpol, the Pierres Jaumâtres amazing huge weathered stones in Creuse, and the Puy de Dôme sleeping volcano.
They climbed to the top of Machu Picchu, in a reflective moment when my sister wasn’t well. They climbed back down to bring me to Southern California for her miraculous recovery.
They got me out and about in Central Park and Inwood Hill park and Fort Washington whenever I needed a breath of fresh air in Manhattan, which was always. When even that wasn’t enough, they took me far north of the city on hikes to Breakneck Ridge in Hudson Highlands state park, and long circular trails in Harriman state park.
They’ve marched alongside my son to the top of #BenNevis, the highest peak in the United Kingdom. They subsequently saw #GlenCoe, the fairy ponds, Loch Lomond and many other delights in Scotland. On other occasions in Britain, they trampled the #Coswolds, the #LakeDistrict, and the #YorkshireDales.
Newer model shoes would no doubt be better adapted to the situation, and to my aging body. However, they can’t tell the stories that these boots can.
Thank you, Jenny, for getting me out into nature! These boots and this body still have a few miles left in us.
If you like walks and stories, check out MyVoiceMap audio tours of the Père Lachaise cemetery:
See funny pics and text from the walk in The Chairfather book.
Happy Birthday Frédéric Chopin. You’re not just a virtuoso pianist and soulful composer, Freddie, you’re also a guy with a lot of heart! Figuratively, but not literally, as I found out on our lunch together. Get to the heart of the matter by walking my tour, or reading my book.
In honor of him, here’s one of his pieces which is too rarely played, only at funerals. Maybe it was played at his own. I like to put it on in quiet introspective moments, deeply felt. Yes, believe it or not, this simple soul is capable of experiencing those emotions. Why just the other day I had one, reflecting on the Ricky Proehl touchdown versus Tampa. See!
I’ll guide you to his final resting place on MyVoiceMap audio tours of the Père Lachaise cemetery, and tell stories from his life.
See funny pics and text from our picnic together in The Chairfather book.
The passed have never been more alive!
Book a lunch date with the fallen famous NOW!
Or later…
Really, it doesn’t matter. Their agendas are quite open.
Saint Joseph’s day
Published by JoeStartAuthor on March 19, 2018The Catholics really know marketing. Before loyalty cards, they invented the concept of the ‘Saint day.’ Every saint has one, and most of them match common first names. So, unless you have an offbeat name like Moon Unit, or Dweezil, that means, if you’re catholic, you have a Saint day, too! You’re celebrated on your birthday and your Saint Day! Do you get TWO birthdays as a buddhist? I don’t think so!
Today is Saint Joseph. While not a catholic, I do live in France, which upholds the tradition. So, I’m allowed to usurp the day (and the accolades). No, you don’t need to get me a present, but downloads, likes and reviews for my tours and books are welcome!
I like my name. It’s versatile, with lots of spellings and diminutives like Joe, Joey, Jo-Jo, but never just ‘Jo.’ The French always want to turn me into a girl with that spelling, which I only accept on Saturday nights 😉 When they do include the ‘e,’ they say ‘Joé’ which is pronounced like ‘Joey.’ While kinda screwy in French, my name sounds good in English, and is pretty universal around the world: José, Josef, Giusseppe, Yusuf and Yossef.
Although Joseph did have the most irrelevant role in the Bible, he definitely deserves Sainthood in my book. While many of us consider the ‘Good News’ as just that, imagine Joseph’s reaction to learning that his wife was pregnant…
As a last note, a kind of ‘drop the mic and walk off the stage’ moment, I challenge ANYBODY to come up with a better all-time baseball lineup, all with the same first name:
Manager- Joe Torre. By the way, on the bench I got Joe Garagiola, Joe Carter, Joe Girardi, Joe Kelley, José Rijo and Jersey Joe Stripp! Don’t mess with Joe!
Only one personality on MyVoiceMap audio tours of the Père Lachaise cemetery has the first name ‘Joseph,’ and that’s just one of his three first names. No bother, THIS Joseph visits all of them, and so if you wanna hear the goofy things I have to say about Hugo or the other 50 personalities I had lunch with, check this out:
See funny pics and text from my picnics in The Chairfather book.
The passed have never been more alive!
Book a lunch date with the fallen famous NOW!
Or later…
Really, it doesn’t matter. Their agendas are quite open.
#Paris #tourism #travel #VoiceMap #audioguide #eBook #goofball
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