We were invited to another party at Máirín and Michael's house in the country. They had heard that Phil was leaving to go back to Santa Monica so they wanted to throw him a farewell party. Phil isn't leaving for another two weeks but that didn't deter Máirín. They are so pleased to be living in France that they take any opportunity to throw a party and show off their renovated miller's house.
There were a bunch of interesting people at the party (besides us, it goes without saying). We met Michel and Sylvia. Sylvia, an ex-pat from Oakland, told us several times that she has been in France for 7 years and two days. I'm not sure she is liking it yet. Her husband, Michel was born in Morocco. He had interesting stories to tell of growing up there. His Portugese grandfather moved to Morocco after the Great Crash (not 2007). During the war the harbor of Casablanca was bombed by the Germans. He bought a sunken cargo for $1000 dollars, sight unseen. He drank champagne for the rest of his life from that one ship.
We also met André who had lived in the United States since he was 14 years old. He was very funny with his fake Brooklyn accent. He told stories of trucking life in California, making runs between Los Angeles and Hayward. At one point he owned an auto parts store. He told funny stories about one employee. The man was in his late sixties when he came looking for work. His argument was that he liked to play the ponies but he didn't want to lose the house's money.
Another couple came later. Aurzel, the hand and foot model from New York, arrived with her French husband, Fred the farrier. They originally moved into the family's chateau but had to sell it because of the enormous upkeep and heating bills. I don't know what she does here in France but I imagine there is not a big market for her hands and feet anymore. Fred has relatives in Washington D.C., cousins who he visits often. Despite that he speaks very little English.
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