A Dirty Job

My wife’s nephew is on vacation in France, the lucky dog.

 

I suppose that like all tourists he is spending a goodly amount of time rubbernecking at all of the marvellous sites that Paris has to offer. I assume he is in Paris, but for all I know he could be touring the country side in a hover craft. That would be pretty cool too. There is just so much to see that it would take several lifetimes to feel even a little bit sated.

When Louise and I went to England, we took a bus tour of London, went to Portsmouth and wandered through Nelson’s ship, ventured into the “tube” station, tinkled in the Museum of London and stood on the parapets of Lewes Castle watching ghostly hoards trying to breach the walls. The entire time we spent in England we would pass something or some place that caught our attention, look at each other and say “next time”. There hasn’t been a “next time” yet, but there will be.

Places like England and France just seem to resonate to me. Partly because my ancestors were kicked out of England and partly because I have studied the British Empire in school and watched so many movies that I feel I know this place. The same is true for France to a lesser degree, but so much of the modern world was formed hundreds of years ago in those European countries. What an amazing place!

The nephew is only there for a short time so it is unlikely he will get his fill of

France but I imagine he will make a point of planning a “next time”. One thing he is doing that I would never in a million years have thought of is taking a cooking course. He is learning to make croissants. Of course France is famous for its cooking schools, but taking lessons isn’t the first thing I think of when on holidays. I might the next time I find myself on a holiday.

Now that I am thinking along those lines, I vaguely remember reading about gambling classes when we were in Vegas. I didn’t pay much attention because I don’t really gamble that much. I don’t gamble that much because I generally lose. I lose because I have never learned how to gamble properly. The casinos do offer this free of charge, but I think it’s like a heroine dealer offering the first hit for free. I think I will take an hour or two the next time I am south of the border and learn how to play roulette. If the Canadian dollar stays as low as it is now, I’ll need to win big just to pay the hotel bill.

I guess there are classes to take in Hawaii as well, but I will be pretty busy walking along the beach and eating shave ice. Most of the classes offered there would actually involve physical activity and some co-ordination. Nope, I think I should stick with my strengths, walking on the beach watching the scantily clad young women. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.