Paris Journal 2011 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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We sat in the open part of the metro car, just inside the middle doors, where the little fold-down seats are located. We often sit there, because until the car becomes more crowded, there’s more leg room. But when people start filling up the seats, people will stand in the open part of the car, right in front of where we’re sitting on the little fold-down seats. That’s okay, except for those people who forget they’re wearing a backpack or knapsack. Those people might just move around and inadvertently wap you in the head or face with that knapsack. So, watch out! We sat there in the metro car on Sunday evening, at the beginning of our 12-stop journey home at the end of our very long walk. Near the beginning of our ride, a pale, skinny middle-aged guy with moderately long dirty black hair hopped onto the car, knapsack on his back, and began to hawk booklets – some were in his hands, and many were in the knapsack. He made sales mistake number 1, right away: he spoke too rapidly. Number 2, he did not use enough courteous words – these are important to the French. Number 3, he was a bit too loud, and his script didn’t include enough about what was in it for the customer who might buy this book. His only hope is that someone like me will understand him and realize that the booklet might be useful for her own project – like the writing of this journal. The booklet purports to be about the history of Paris, and it is, but it is really the history behind the name of each metro station. There are so many, that this can cover some territory in Paris history. I bought one of these booklets from this guy a year or two ago, and I left it in the apartment over in the 6th arrondissement. It was moderately useful and helpful, but really all that information and much more is available on the internet. I listened to his speech, and watched his knapsack carefully as it threatened before my face. When nobody was responding to his speech, he looked around, mildly annoyed, and probably caught my mildly annoyed look. As he glanced at me, he was saying to the car, what, doesn’t anyone speak French? I said, slowly and clearly, “Je l’ai deja.” (I have it already.) He was a little surprised. He acknowledged my answer, and thanked me quickly, because he knows I must have bought it from him at some point in the past – he’s the only guy who tries to sell these things on the metro. I suspect that one can get a copy for free at RATP’s headquarters. He tried for another 30 seconds to get somebody to buy a booklet from him, and then he disembarked at the next station, so he could hop onto another car and try again. RATP, the transportation authority that runs the metro, buses, trams, etc., in Paris, calls itself the world’s fifth largest public transport company, with 4 billion journeys a year in the Île de France (Paris greater metropolitan area) alone. I was surprised to learn that RATP operates elsewhere in the world, not just in the Île de France. In fact, it operates transport systems in 12 countries! Speaking of moving about, today’s our big moving day over to the 6th arrondissement. So it is goodbye for now. See you tomorrow! Sign
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Thursday, September 8, 2011
The bicycle
clown gives his heart to his “assistant.”
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