"Only Shopping This Time"

When Richard and Yolanda aren't shopping, they are
usually in Lyon or Aix.

Instead of the Other Usual Things

Paris:- Thursday, 11. April 2002:- Today's weather is not as good as it has been, and is nowhere near as fine as indicated in the club reports by Linda Thalman for the last two meetings. You can see these reports in this issue, because I finally got around to including them, and because it's Thursday.

In fact, by the time I get to Châtelet on the métro - which takes longer than usual because it keeps stopping to 'regularize traffic,' which is utter nonsense because métro trains are supposed to zip smartly from station to station and if they don't, they deregularize all following trains.

Well, anyway, it takes so long that it is nearly raining when I get to Châtelet, and I have to scoot briskly along to get to the club's café on time, without getting wet if my scoot is brisk enough.

More of this weather is predicted, although tonight's TV-weather news has hinted at merely 'partly-cloudy' for next Saturday, followed by 'more-than-partly-cloudy' for Sunday. The temperatures will be less than 20 degrees too, so it will be a bit cool for water-skiing if you are inclined to do this in Paris.

My scoot brings me to the club's café La Corona more or less on the dot of 15:00, and I use this 'dot' to take a few extra photos to accompany Linda's reports for the past two meetings that you'll remember are included in this issue.

I really was in New York when these meetings were held and I certainly did think of 'Something of the Week' to mark the occasions, but no longer remember what these 'somethings' were.

None of people in the club's area seem to be anxious to join the club and the unfamiliar 'Waiter of the Week' is very understanding when I tell him I intend to loiter until I think of ordering anything. No one has told him about any strange club meetings taking place here today.

I pass some time inscribing the new members' names from the last two meetings in the club's members' booklet. When this is finished, I pass some more time doing nothing except wondering why I didn't bring any homework to the café like I usually do.

This second pastime is shorter than the first because Yolanda and Richard Massie make themselves known to me as people who will willingly join this club.

This is mildly astonishing because it reminds me that Richard sent an email saying he intended to do this. I think the email came a minute or two before I left for New York.

Which turns into a coincidence, because Yolanda and Richard come a 'couple of times a year' to Paris from the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and I was recently there too. If there wasn't a zillion people there - in Brooklyn, I mean - we might have bumped into each other a week ago.

But there's more - we really first met by accident on Friday, 10. November 2000, during Paris' 'Mois de la Photo' - at a photo exhibition put on by Patrick Smith in a gallery in a warehouse in an industrial alley off the Rue du Faubourg du Temple.

This calls for a solid round of 'Ahas,' handshakes, hat and coat removals, bag stashing, pulling up chairs and the usual of getting settled in for a meeting that has new members.

Right now I am going to break one of the 'rules' the club doesn't have, by not relating all the New York things we talked about, because they are fresh with me and solid New Yorkers like Yolanda and Richard really like their city and have a lot of enthusiasm for it.

They knew all about the places I'd been, and were shocked that I didn't have a hot dog at Nathan's at Coney Island on Christmas Day when I had a perfect chance to do so.

I will only say this horrendous oversight occurred because I had just had breakfast, plus I like to leave things undone so that I have an excuse to go back and not do them again so that I will have any excuse to go back again. If you read this, Nathan's, I'm coming!

Anyway, while that endless loop loops endlessly, I'll put in Brooklyn for the 'City of the Week.'

I met Yolanda and Richard in Paris about 18 months ago because Richard is a serious photographer, and today he is pretty excited to have a nearly new Olympus D230 digital camera, with about 264 Megas of spare memory handy for recording Paris sights.

The last time I saw him he had a rare Leica M-model type camera and it had black and white film init. This is what he would still use for 'serious stuff' but he has already found the lightweight and pocket-sized point-and-shoot Olympus to be more capable than he expected - plus he got it for a low price, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.