Tag: Montparnasse Cemetery

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Stew and Sandy’s Summer Vacation in Paris

How many of you remember as a kid attending the home slide shows your parents put on for family, friends, and neighbors? If you’re a baby boomer like us, you’ll likely recall your father pulling the screen out of the front hall closet, extending the legs, and then unrolling the white screen to attach to the hook on the vertical arm. Then he unboxes the slide projector, places it on one of those small fold-up tables, and plugs it in. Next comes the multiple box trays with slides that have been carefully inserted into their slots in an order in which father wants to narrate. (The carousel slide tray was the next generation of new technology.) A test drive had to be performed before the guests arrive. The projector is turned on and carefully calibrated to ensure it is at the proper distance from the screen and in focus.

The 1950s family slide show. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
The 1950s family slide show. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

So, the screen show is all set, Mom has made the hors-d’œuvres (we call them appetizers since it’s easier to spell), and Dad has set up the bar. Now all that is needed are the guests. At the appointed hour, everyone arrives. After the chit-chat, Dad calls everyone to the living room. Everybody settles back, begins to knock down their third martini or whiskey sour, and lights up their favorite smoke. (Remember, back then, everyone smoked.) Dad turns on the projector with its familiar fan sound and exhaust fumes that compete with the smoke from the cigarettes and pipes. The first slide goes up on the screen and through the haze of smoke, the title of the evening’s entertainment is displayed:

Stew and Sandy’s Summer Vacation in Paris

So, kids, fill up your bowl with popcorn, settle into your favorite recliner, make sure your glass is full, and get ready for your slide show.

An ancient slide projector. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). RG-VC/iStockphoto.
An ancient slide projector. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). RG-VC/iStockphoto.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the last living World War II Medal of Honor recipient died on 29 June 2022? Hershel “Woody” Williams (1923−2022) was ninety-eight when he passed away at the VA Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia. (The hospital was named for him.) Woody joined the Marines in 1943 and became a demolition operator. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he volunteered to clear an area riddled by Japanese machine gun fire that hindered the advancement of troops. Read More Stew and Sandy’s Summer Vacation in Paris

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The Marcel Network

During the years I have researched and worked on the three-volume series of Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? (click here to see the book), I came across many stories, some of which end up as blog posts. My favorite topics include stories about the brave men and women who fought the Nazis as either bona fide resistance fighters, foreign agents, or ordinary people who did what they knew was right knowing full well that death would be their reward if caught.

I particularly enjoy sharing with you the stories of the men and women who risked capture to save the lives of children. (Read the blogs, Kindertransport and Mr. Winton [click here], The French Anne Frank [click here], and Something Must Be Done [click here].) Today’s blog is one of those remarkable stories when two people convinced others of various religious beliefs to work together to save hundreds of Jewish children from the Nazi gas chambers. (Click here to read the blog, The Children Who Survived.)

Did You Know?

Did you know that Winston Churchill is well-known for his often witty, insightful, and biting quotations? Of course you knew this, but I’ll bet you don’t know that Charles de Gaulle was no slouch in the quotation department. Here are some quotes and zingers I picked out for you from that big and loveable French general:

  • “No nation has friends, only interests.” (My favorite.)
  • “In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.”
  • “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.”
  • “I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.”
  • “How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”
  • “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”
  • “Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him.”
  • “Always choose the most difficult way; there you will not meet competitors.”

And finally:

  • “When I am right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong. We are angry at each other much of the time.”

    Winston Churchill and Gen. Charles de Gaulle review French soldiers during their meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco. Photo by anonymous (c. January 1944). Imperial War Museum. PD-UK Government. Wikimedia Commons.
    Winston Churchill and Gen. Charles de Gaulle review French soldiers during their meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco. Photo by anonymous (c. January 1944). Imperial War Museum. PD-UK Government. Wikimedia Commons.

Let’s Meet Moussa & Odette

Moussa Abadi (1910−1997) was born in Syria in the Jewish ghetto of Damascus. He learned to speak French while attending the Jewish Alliance School in Damascus and earned a scholarship to study at the Sorbonne in Paris. Moussa developed a passion for acting and the theater which carried over to his doctorate in literature (i.e., French theater in the Middle Ages). While pursuing an acting career, Moussa met Odette Rosenstock one evening in 1939 and the two of them immediately fell in love. Read More The Marcel Network