Yesterday a man came to fix the television-- he was surprised to find that a cable was corroded and we hadn't been able to get television for many months. I hadn't actually noticed, but as the Oscars are coming up this weekend, I tested the television and was horrified to see that we wouldn't be able to watch my first Oscars' ceremony in many years (not counting the aborted version last year where I watched an hour or so in a deserted bar in Colorado after making the furious bartender switch from The Simpsons).
After he fixed it, he showed me some of the stations. "Can I get foreign stations?" I asked. "French ones?"
"Vous parlez français?" he answered. He was a Berber from Marseilles. We had a nice talk. He said he came to the U.S. at age 19 and married an American. He said he was happy he hadn't stayed in France. I urged him to get French passports/ dual citizenship for his children. It gives them more choice in their lives.
"What are their names?" I asked, hoping to hear some wonderful Berber name.
"Hannah and Michael," he said.
I don't know if you've been up Hwy. 395 toward Bishop, Mammoth, and Reno, but if you get a chance see if the restaurant called Still Life is still open in the town of Olancha.
I was there in 2002 because I read about the place in the SF Chronicle. It was run by two Berber women who made fantastic salads and main dishes. We spent a couple of hours with them, and they were happy to find that there were some Americans who spoke French. They said most of their customers came from L.A.
Posted by: Ken | 23 February 2008 at 16:37