A Note to Readers
Our serialized memoir is coming to a close. Do we now say goodbye? I am eager for your thoughts.
Dear Fellow Travelers:
The chapter that would normally have run today is set at the Fête de Village, 2022. That makes it a full year since I first properly met this goofy, surprising burg. It’s the perfect yardstick to take larger stock and in my mind, it was always when our main story would come to a close.
But it occurs to me that some of you might be invested. (Some of you are literally so—and thank you again for your hard-earned cash money.) Maybe this timeline and this narrative arc doesn’t have to be the whole story.
It feels like we have two options. I am going to leave them to you, and to the extent anyone feels engaged enough to jump in with a desire or preference, that will help me make up my own mind. I’m struggling with the decision.
The first option is we just wrap it up here, which is neat and feels like mission accomplished. If we go that way, I’d hope that everyone would feel free to cancel their subs and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for coming along for the ride. It was always an exercise to tell this story, and exercises end.
The second option is that I shift the focus to more contemporary things—they might be rural and related to my life here, or they might be generally French, as there is plenty of stuff going on in my adopted country that is worth considering in the leisurely and editorialized manner that has become our stock in trade.
France has crazy politics right now, peopled with absurd and entertaining characters. Along with America, it’s the other really longstanding democracy in the West, but it does things very differently, with institutional style and flair that I, at least, find endlessly interesting. Its media is headed down the same road as ours, too, with a rising right-wing sphere that plays insidiously on the same populism and fakeness and bad faith as ours, albeit not as far along to ruin. But I also know that I am a geek for this stuff, and most of you might not be.
While there are lots of lovely places in France to discover as a tourist, and I know a lot of corners of the country well, I fluffed it as a travel journalist for 20 years and that is one thing I can’t do anymore. At least not on an ongoing basis. There are plenty of other excellent outlets where you can revel in pictures of market-fresh tomatoes and recipes and bistro recommendations. God bless those people for keeping up with the churn. I tapped out when I moved out here and it became impossible to. I happily pass the baton to them.
Writing about contemporary subjects makes this a less inward affair, but maybe it’s time to shift focus from my navel.
I’m entirely undecided here. I love the precision of just finishing this. I love finality and closure. But it’s also fun to yip-yap with you all. Let me know your thoughts.
I don't care what your write about; I just enjoy feeling connected to an old friend. You are a great writer whether you write about contemporary politics or life in the countryside. It doesn't have to be an either/or proposition, and you could have fun comparing the two. I am also a politics nerd---you may recall that I was a politics major way back when, but I also grew up and currently work in a small, rural town. While I also harbor a near constant urge to wrap things up, I think you have enjoyed this and will continue to enjoy it. If it brings you pleasure, embrace the hedonism!
. . . as for me, please continue. Your life in the French countryside will always be interesting to me, but I also am eager to hear your perspectives on all things French and the many ways France and the USA similar and different. Plus, I love hearing about the general goings-on in your world. Yes, please don't stop! I'll pay. . .