Wide Open Spaces

We knew that we would separate from the Texas Trio at the Toulouse Airport after lunch, & they would be taking a flight back to Paris.  The drive from Albi to Toulouse was little more than an hour on a double to triple lane highway. We glided on a wide open plain with sunshine all the way. For you see, now we were in the Midi,  or southern France, where the sun rarely hides and rain is even rarer. Access into the terminals was easy as pie with corresponding parking buildings - A, B, C, & D.  Each had about 10  open air parking levels. Cars entered & exited from a coiling ramp, with a ticket gate at each level. To get to the terminals one merely took an industrial-sized elevator to the ground floor & then walked toward the terminal on a sheltered sidewalk. 

Contrary to the usual constrained European spaces, Toulouse’s airport surprises by its enormity in area and volume. Except for the language one might have thought it to be in the U.S., Canada, or Australia. Toulouse is perhaps the one city in all of France that could pass for a city in these “new” countries. It is France’s aeronautic center where presently Air Bus is being assembled for eager customers worldwide. Unlike the regional poverty of the Massif Central (Central Mountains) where we had just passed through, Toulouse and surroundings are thriving. 

The only fly in the ointment was that to get out of the parking lot we were supposed to pay with a special credit card that only Europeans have.  We cannot have this Carte Bleue unless we have a European bank account! J.J. spoke on the S.O.S. intercom to an employee who came to us quickly. The poor troubleshooter arrived out of breath and limping, as he accepted our cash payment, & released us with a special key. (Think poor Chester in Gunsmoke. I know handicapped people need jobs, but did his employers have to give him this one?!) How many times a day does this happen? You’d think they would offer another pay option for non-Europeans who don’t have European bank accounts.

With no pressure to make a schedule we drove leisurely toward our cousins’ top floor penthouse apartment in Colomiers, a nearby suburb of Toulouse. Our pace would slow down for the next 4 days as we relaxed in a homey atmosphere with close relations. Aaahhh!

We were wined and dined as we gazed out of an eagle’s aerie. Marie France, M.D.,  flew in from a full day of work at community health services, and like a magician produced a mini-family feast.  J.J.’s cousin Martin, after a full day en conférence at Air Bus,  served the aperitif & opened conversation.  Before the eve was over we had discussed our boys -- 4 for them, 7 for us, siblings, cousins, surviving and recently deceased elders, religion, & politics. 

The tone of our banter was convivial as we launched into all manner of subjects. We do not feel the need to put on “a good face,” or to pump up our accomplishments. Our yearly letters have summarized major happenings, kid’s studies, adventures, disappointments, and losses. As “boy” families we have a lot in common. Perhaps the Petits Martins* have been a bit more marshaled than the Petits Darcy. They’ve been stellar boy scouts and disciplined Roman Catholics. The parents have encouraged summer sèjours à l’ètranger.** Our boys have been eccentric scouts and, although they are Roman Catholic, they are not very disciplined. Ours have always been immersed--whether they liked it or not--into a variety of foreign cultures. The result is predictable. The Petits Martins are fine products of the best conventional French parenting; their manners are impeccable. The Petits Darcys are fine products, though issue of a raffish style of parenting; their manners are rough around the edges. Both sets have completed  successful studies in fields of their choice. All wives and fiancées are their equals. Both sets include mates from other nationalities. It makes a fun comparison.

You might recall that there was a presidential election in full swing while we were in France. Plus, we have an activist pope who is always ruffling feathers by his solemn declarations. Our debate was quite lively. We have noticed that the Martins have over time shifted from center right  to the center left politically. And did you know that even catholic views have degrees of right & left? Here again we noticed the slide toward center left. No matter; we’ll always enjoy debating la différence. Wouldn’t it be boring if we always agreed?

*It is a tradition in J.J.’s family to name each family after the first name of the sons or the surname of the daughters. Actually, J.J.’s family is called Les Jean-Jaques & the sons, Les Petits Jean-Jaques. It works. I’ll demonstrate it again in my next post where we will be visiting his youngest sister & her husband.

**A period of time spent in a foreign country. Summer cultural and linguistic séjours are quite common. This is the way that young europeans learn other languages before they finish secondary school. The full year exchange is another formula. Our boys have done it both ways.