jackiedoherty.org

The best thing about being on vacation these days is NOT knowing what is going on in the world. While in the quiet southwest corner of France, the U.S. election and even the world financial crisis seemed far away and looking at ancient Roman ruins gives one a philosophical attitude about the frantic tone of the media. Despite the French reputation for being anti-American, we had no difficulties of that kind. An internet cafe gave us the bad news about the stock market one day, but the feeling among the French, German and fellow American tourists was one of camaraderie – the globalization of the disaster has put us all in the same boat. A brighter note occurred, when we were able to share the good news about the Red Sox win with some people from the Worcester area. A discussion with a French college student who was hoping for an Obama win and the end of the war was the only political note that was struck, and we were d’accord. While standing on a bt of the Via Domitia, the ancient Roman road through Gaul, linking Italy to Spain, one felt the age of the world, the transitory nature of our lives and our troubles, and a kind of deep silence and peace. Now that I’ve read the blogs and listened to CNN, this mood will likely be short-lived, but c’est la vie.