Au Cochonnet Marin

I finally got around to watch the Meghan and Harry soap Oprah, and frankly, I was not won over by her (or his) performance. Sure, she is cute and well-spoken, but she was not convincing enough. I particularly struggled to believe her assertions that when she had it all (a prince, a title, servants, security detail, and a child underway) she entertained suicidal thoughts.

To me, her story sounds like a failure to adapt to reality. When you join the Firm, you fundamentally agree to follow its rules and customs, and not the other way around. To my knowledge, there is absolutely no job devoid of any pesky drawbacks, even when you are a newly minted duchess.

Meghan failed to carefully the script and was totally unprepared for her new role. She was not even aware that she had to curtsy before the queen. Even a peon like me knows that…

When she married into the British royal family, she had no idea what to expect and by her own admission, she was unwilling to do some research about it. Today, the Internet is available to answer any questions and if you fail to do so, you have only yourself to blame.

Both Meghan and Harry came out as spoiled whiners. If you want to play by your own rules, you forego all the benefits of your previous employment. Once you leave Google, you are not a Googler anymore and you are no longer entitled to any of its perks. The same goes for royalty. You just cannot have your cake and eat it too.

“Googlers employees are extremely well fed, getting healthy and varied breakfast, lunch, and even dinner if they stay late — for free. There are also coffee and juice bars scattered throughout the campuses.”

 Meghan’s problem is above all a clash of cultures. There is a big gap between make-believe and reality. If you are not born into royalty, it is difficult to learn and abide by its rules. It might also be unpleasant to lose some of your independence and become a second, or even a third banana. But this the price that you have to pay to become a “royal”.

Meghan’s story reminds me of Wally Simpson’s tale. Both women married princes but failed to ingratiate themselves into a higher (and probably snobbish) caste.

Hot-headed Harry, like the Duke of Windsor, was influenced by a strong-willed woman and unable to resist the pull of the woman he loved. He might later regret his bid for independence.

Latent racism might have been a small part of the equation, but it is not the main reason for Megxit. British aristocracy’s snobbery more than racism might have played a bigger part in this melodrama than the racist card.

To sum it up, I don’t feel much sympathy for Meghan and Harry. They made their bed and have to lie in it.

Alain

A few years ago, greeting hugs became fashionable among young Anglo-Saxon men. It was a sharp departure from the traditional brisk handshake previously favored by them.

But, like “nouveaux-riches” eager to show their affluence, they didn’t seem to know that hugging is regulated by some etiquette. A hug is like a medal… or a kiss; it is special and not offered to any Tom, Dick, or Harry. It is bestowed upon unique individuals, and if you are a serial hugger, you cheapen the value of this currency.
You would not smooch with everybody, would you? So do not feel that you have to hug everybody because it seems to be fashionable

And besides, everybody is not sold on greeting hugs. Nothing is more painful to watch than the sight of an unwelcome hug. Huggies will respond to an unwanted hug with a limp body and a weak pat on the back of the hugger. But you can tell that their heart is not in it.

I was never extraordinarily fond of hugs anyway… unless it was done by a relative or by a lady intent on carnal gratification. It always reminds me of my aunt Olga who liked to smooch, but who alas had a bad case of halitosis. Besides, you don’t see the hands of the hugger and in these contentious days, it is a little iffy. He/she could easily stick a dagger in your back while swearing eternal love to you. That’s probably what happened to Julius Caesar.

Between men, I far prefer the old-fashioned, reliable handshake. You make eye contact, and you extend your hand. The action is direct, manly, and unlike the hug, you also have a solid grip on the hand that might strike you.

But this matter has become irrelevant anyway. We are now wrestling with Covid-19 and very few people would be willing to hug you, even if you looked like Paul Newman.
The virus has been with us for close to a year, and as an unwelcome guest, it is abusing its stay.

I suspect that this diabolical infective agent is a serial hugger. It sneaks up on you, and before you even know it, it embraces you a lethal hug. A dastardly way of showing affection.

When the virus will be defeated and sent packing, I wonder if men’s greeting hugs will remain as popular as it once was. Maybe it will vanish like the “baisemain” of yore and nobody will miss it. I am sure that very soon the kids will invent a new way of greeting you… Maybe a reverse hug, derrière against derrière… It would be more fun and much safer than the face-to-face squeeze.

But remember, hugs are special. They are not to be used trivially. Save them for special occasions and dispense them sparingly. Otherwise, like an inflated currency, they will lose their status and value.

Alain

A long time ago I read a book called “All quiet on the Western Front”. It is a novel that was written by German World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque. The story was published in 1928 and it sold millions of copies. Several movies were also made about it, notably, the 1979 television version starring Richard Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, and Donald Pleasance…

The novel is to some degree an anti-war book that was later banned by Hitler and the Nazi party. It describes the misery and the horrific conditions endured by the German soldiers in the trenches during World War I… and their disillusion with the war.

The most dramatic episode of the book (and in the films) takes place during the waning days of the war. There is a lull in the fighting, and all is quiet on the Western Front.

Paul (the hero of the story) spots a bird and raises his head from the trenches to have a better look. A single shot rings and Paul is killed by a sniper’s bullet in the head.

The moral of this long preamble is that even when the war seems to be over, you should not throw caution to the wind.

Several Southern states (most prominently Texas, with 29 million residents) have proclaimed that the war against the pandemic has been won and that they are allowing all business activities to resume full scale. No more masks or any other pesky restrictions for anyone.

This is utterly foolish and irresponsible because, despite some progress, the war against Covid-19 is not yet over. There is still a lot of fighting going on and it would be tragic for anybody to take a bullet in the head a few months before the war really comes to an end.

I fully understand the financial hardship suffered by the business community, but what good will the business re-opening do to anybody if they all end up dead?

I just got my 2^nd shot of the Pfizer vaccine (no side effects thank you), and even though I feel somewhat protected, it will probably be months before I ditch my facemask and start kissing any Tom, Dick, and Harry.

Why take even the slightest chance when the Allies have landed? We will soon be liberated and free to indulge in whatever we want… During the 2020 blitz, we took it on the chin for over a year, but most of us endured. A few more months of caution on the Western Front is not going to make that much difference.

Patience is a virtue. Get vaccinated, and if you want to fully enjoy life again, keep wearing a mask and lay low for a little while longer.

Alain