The iron campanile in Camaret.
poursuivre (poor-sweevre) verb
1. to pursue; to chase; to hunt down 2. to hound 3. to seek 4. to prosecute
Il faut des rêves suffisamment grands pour ne pas les perdre de vue en les poursuivant. One must have big enough dreams so as not to lose sight of them while pursuing them. --Yves Michallet
A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse
Note: This story was written in October 2006
In Camaret sur Aygues, a light breeze leads us right to the gate of the town, above which an iron belfry overlooks the Vauclusian countryside. Jean-Marc's aunt, Marie-Françoise, tells me that such open bell towers, or campaniles, are constructed in windy regions where it is better to go with the flow than to be beaten down by the Mistral.*
Seated at an outdoor café, shaded by an immense plane tree, we were celebrating good news* when our luck took a swift turn. Our five-month-old puppy, Braise, was sleeping beneath the table, her leash attached to the leg of a feather-light bistro chair when the drama began. It happened when my son rose from the chair-in-question, announcing he and his sister were off to play in the ancient ramparts behind the café. That is when Braise stirred....
Moments later, our golden retriever's ear trembled as she listened to the kids' voices trail off. Concerned, she stood and set out to follow the children's laughter. But as she advanced, so did the chair to which she was attached. The grating sound of the chair dragging against the stone path startled our pup and, turning to discover its noisy source, she trembled to find herself pursued by a screeching four-legged alien.
Braise's eyes shot out of her head before she peeled out of that terrace café, the bistro chair flying off with her. The scene could have been comical if it weren't cloaked in what looked to be impending doom.
Braise made a left along the Grand Rue, entering the town's ramparts, and continued, full throttle, down the pedestrian walkway. As she fled the bouncing bistro chair, she screamed bloody murder as only a dog can: in a gargle of excited barks. The commotion resonated through the enclosed town, with Braise and the chair rocketing down the narrow street, windows flying open in their wake, along with a French audience bent at the hip.
Terrorized by her springing and screaming pursuer, Braise tried in vain to outrun the chair monster, but the faster she ran from it, the faster it followed, menacing and angry in her tracks.
When she was halfway down the street, the leash came untied and the chair fell loose, spinning on its side to a full stop. Braise didn't look back but turned on her paws and headed, full steam, back to the busy street beside which we had sat celebrating at the terrace café.
In a panic, I ran after our puppy, screaming her name. It was when she rounded the corner, at record speed, that I heard the screech of tires....
With my heart in my throat I sped around the corner to learn, via the wag of a tail and the sparkle of my husband's eyes, that we now had an additional cause for celebration: one lucky dog had just missed a car. Braise l'a échappé belle.*
***
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~French Vocabulary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
le Mistral (m) = a strong, cold north wind; good news = (update: the "good news" was that the SAFER** cleared us to purchase the vineyard); l'échapper belle = to have a narrow escape (and avoid an accident)
**SAFER (Sociétés d’Aménagement Foncier et d’Etablissement Rural): A SAFER's primary objective is to prevent speculation over rural lands and more generally protect the agricultural exploitation of these lands. (definition by Craig at This French Life (thanks, Craig!)
Audio File
Listen to Jean-Marc pronounce today's quote: Download poursuivre2.wav
Il faut des rêves suffisamment grands pour ne pas les perdre de vue en les poursuivant.
In books:
Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution"One of The Best Books Of The Decade." -- Time
Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language from the South of France
