[oldtimer]

Our group (10) tried to put heavy peer pressure on me to take a Paris to Normandy riverboat cruise two weeks ago for our annual trip, and I said hell no, I won't go.

I won't get near those nasty frogs again!

Semi-social meltdown becoming a standoff.

I said you all go, but the frogs are are enemies and hate us, I aint going period!

Finally, the ice cracked, and now we are going to Spain and Portugal - so score one more!

[leilani]

BRAVO! (Or should I say, Ole!?) Good for you. For a while there, I was really thinking about taking the ol' white-out pen & doing some creative geneology on my family tree. But then I realized: why should I be so ashamed about all my french ancestry? After all, MY folks were the ones who got the hell outta dodge. It's all the nutty weirdos who STAYED who are the darwinian dregs of the universe. THEY are the ones who tried to appease Hitler by running to Vichy (leaving their wives & children at the mercy of the rampaging brownshirts).MY ancestors didn't. France is the official armpit of europe now, sadly, and they have Chirac to thank for it.

[psycho-sis]

I encountered quite the opposite of reactions when I toured Normandy last year. I was moved by all of the memorials and statements of gratitude aimed at Americans (this was out of the annexed beach areas). It really is a trip everyone should make. Some Normans have their heads on straight. But just to be sure I won't take a sip of the Calvados for awhile.
Also no more Deutsche Grammaphone classical recordings.