Request for less disciplinary action against Apech

[CloudHands]

But when we arrived at Dien Bien Phu it was a different story. The hills bristled with the fighting Viet Minh, armed to the teeth and eager for war. Below them were the French, totally surrounded. Surrounded and yet it seems, oblivious. In the centre of their camp was a long trestle table covered with a spotless white cloth. Around it sat the soldiers eating fresh bread and duck pate, and sipping a delightful Pinot Noir. At the head of the table the commander in chief stood upon a crate, a glass of claret in one hand and a gauloise in the other, reciting Baudelaire. There is nothing so sweet and musical, so sensuous or dramatic, so mellifluous as the French mother tongue, spoken aloud under an open sky … especially when it is punctuated by the rippling crack, bang and thud of 81 mm mortar shells landing all about. As the Viet Minh surged forward as if lured on by the smell of ripe camembert, I can tell you I wept.

 

 

It was not just that I was witnessing the slaughter of a majestic foe, it was that I was seeing the victory of modernity over art, efficiency over style and brute force over charm. Never again, I thought, would tousle haired existentialists dressed in white linen ferry their wives and mistresses through the misty back waters of the Mekong Delta while a nectarine sun set over distant smoke blue hills. It was the end of French Indo-China, the end of an imperial dream, which like an antique palace was slowly collapsing into the sea of history.

 

As the last battle cries rang out, I sloped quietly away into the undergrowth, I wanted none of it.

people have so many cliche about frenches. I'd like to ad some verbal precision about french language. As spoken in the city I grew up sounded more like

10 years later it's more like

. Yeah I know Japanese tourists are surprised too.

 

[Apech]

people have so many cliche about frenches. I'd like to ad some verbal precision about french language. As spoken in the city I grew up sounded more like

10 years later it's more like

. Yeah I know Japanese tourists are surprised too.

 

 

stay tuned for more cliches.

[Marblehead]

Well, I think Cajun French is very beautiful when put to music.

 

Funny that when people from France visit Cajun-land they always criticize the Cajuns for not speaking proper French.

 

But then, the Cajuns criticize a Cajun musician if he doesn't do some music in French.

[CloudHands]

Same with Quebec folks. Imagine someone coming to your door speaking XVI's century english. Maybe you'd have some difficulty to take him seriously at first.

[Apech]

This is a composite picture of the typical modern day Frenchman:

 

[soaring crane]

Epic thread! Should be stickied

[Marblehead]

This is a composite picture of the typical modern day Frenchman:

 

The link doesn't work for me.

[Apech]

I cannot tell how many days or weeks I wandered with a heavy heart and an empty belly, moving south inland and then down the coast. Eventually I was taken in by a village priest in Hoa Vang district. He was, he told me from a tribe of the Mon-Khmer far from his true home. He taught me how to fish and we would weekly take the long hike down to the sea, to where his brother's boat was moored. One day when waiting for his brother to return we were surprised by the appearance of a huge flotilla of vast grey ships over the horizon. Smaller craft emerged from those ships and raced to shore crashing into the sand. Men waving rifles, packets of chewing gum and chocolate bars ran up the beach towards us as we stood dumbstruck. A tall officer loomed over my master and in a loud voice asked:

"Excuse me Sir could you direct us to the strategically vital Air Base at Da Nang?"

"Sorry me humble fisherman," replied my master adopting a strangely distorted syntax.

"Oh! Well we are the 9th Marine Expeditionary brigade of the Younited States of America come to save you from the red oppressor."

My master bowed deeply.

"Most welcome. If I had known I would have changed from these simple black pyjamas and hat in the shape of a lamp shade which I customarily wear, into something more fitting for this great occasion."

The smiling officer waved away my masters apology.

"And how," continued my master, "will you go about saving us from this red peril."

"We thought we would fly around in helicopters playing the Doors greatest hits, Jefferson Airplane and also some R&B soul music, even though as this is 1965 much of this music has not yet been recorded."

Bowing again my master said.

"This is indeed a great day for my country, now if you will excuse us we must go to dig tunnels …"

"Dig tunnels?"

"Excuse me my English is so poor what I meant to say is we must go to gather in the harvest."

And so we departed, my master muttering to himself - 'we must leave and go to my cousin in Cambodia as I am sure the forthcoming war will never spread to there even though there may be Vietnamese supply lines passing through that country and the American President may seek to justify this as a means of containment rather than military expansionism. In any case he will probably end up being impeached for an unrelated but similar act of mendacity'.

Sometimes I wondered if perhaps my master was too fond of those special mushrooms, his talk was so strangely affected and yet weirdly prophetic.

[Marblehead]

You just can't seem to get away from humans who want to kill each other. Surely you have now found peace but It seems to me there is still a long journey ahead.

 

(And fix the link please.)

[Apech]

You just can't seem to get away from humans who want to kill each other. Surely you have now found peace but It seems to me there is still a long journey ahead.

 

(And fix the link please.)

 

 

No peace for the wicked.

 

... its not a link its a pic.

[Marblehead]

No peace for the wicked.

Yeah, life works that way oftentimes.

 

... its not a link its a pic.

I click, get a blank screen, no picture.

[Nungali]

Errrmmm ... Marblehead ... after waiting for that link to fork for 30 seconds I gave up ( hint ..... bloody cat ! )

 

http://temisoftinc.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/blank-screen.jpg

 

(unless he is still working for the Chinese and his link just opened your camera and mic )

Edited March 19, 2014 by Nungali

[Apech]

Typical French man from time in question:

 

 

Typical american from time in question

 

 

all images courtesy of FBI databanks and efitology.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Apech

[Marblehead]

Typical French man from time in question:

Sure. Why not? One for all and all for one. The never-ending battle against the evil and greedy. And it's even better when you get to rescue a fair maiden.

 

It's just that the French ran out of the money needed to continue their presence there. I mean, they had to give up Algeria - nothing left after that. But then, many Algerians and Morrocans still speak French.

 

And I met a lady in Viet Nam whos mother was Vietnamese and father was French. What a lovely lady!!!

Edited March 19, 2014 by Marblehead

[Mark Foote]

[Marblehead]

Oh! I don't just like that; I love it!!!

[Apech]

Life in the tunnels was no joke I can tell you. I was set to work catching rats. I mean me! Rats! Didn't they know I used to be fed Bratwurst on a golden spoon by the Fuhrer himself? After a few years of this purgatory my master announced that we were to creep away across the Cambodian border to Phnom Penh. There we stayed with my master's cousins Mr. and Mrs. Pot. the nicest people I have ever met. Especially as they had a seemingly endless supply of fresh meat. It was a time of youthfulness and joy … in fact I can hardly remember seeing any old people after a while … I have no idea where they went. They, the Pots, were very keen bone collectors and had a whole warehouse full of skulls.

 

But all good things have to come to an end sooner or later and my master who was now getting on a bit seemed to get very uneasy. One night he took us by train to a post and we border an old freighter bound for Bangladesh.

[Marblehead]

Ha! You made a move I didn't expect. Off you go to Bangladesh!

 

Yeah, back then Cambodia was a contradiction in itself.

 

I just the other night watched a little about a cave system in Vietnam that might be the largest on the planet. Yes, a natural cave, not the ones the Viet Cong dug.

[Nungali]

How old is this cat ??? Or are we up to life 5 by now ?

 

 

 

 

... cant wait til he gets to America, frees the slaves and sets up a Masonic Government

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Apech]

Bump.

 

I can't even remember why this thread came about.

[thelerner]

a blast from the past.

[steve]

[Nungali]

I support the above .