Juliette Recamier

If you've read histories about Paris in the early 19th century you've probably come across this woman. A close friend of Madame de Staël and one of the more outspoken critics of Napoleon, a position which cost her dearly, she was reportedly one of the most beautiful women in a city that craved beauty. That and she had a mind of her own.

So, when you see Juliette, tell her I said bonjour and will stop by and pay my respects the next time I'm in town. You have to look hard for Juliette at the cemetery in Montmartre -- ever modest even when she was the toast of Paris she's now quite elusive. You'll find her in Division 30.

May 2017 update from Grand Rapids

Our wonderfully mild winter has been followed, as you have probably already suspected, by a gorgeous spring. So, we a couple of weeks ago took the opportunity to go across the street and stroll in Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, savoring blossoms, sun and blue sky. . .

"Baboon with chimpanzee" 1996 by Marshal Fredericks

"Juggler clown, acrobat clown, lovesick clown" 1991 by Marshal Fredericks

We were fortunate to have Easter dinner with the Ten Have Chapman Galloway clans out at Clear Lake -- there's always plenty of lively conversation and great food at their gatherings. We returned just last Sunday to join them all for lunch as they welcomed Berenice's parents who were visiting from France.

Berenice?

OK, here's the backstory: Berenice is from France. She began her American phase of life as an exchange student living with the Ten Have Chapmans and decided to try and make her way in the world from here rather than there, if you get my drift. And just a week ago she graduated form Grand Valley State University here in West Michigan and will spend the summer studying for the CPA exam before heading off to Detroit to work for an accounting firm.

Now, put yourself in her shoes -- even though your feet may be bigger than hers --  you're a young person living in a foreign county, no family, although the THCs have pretty much got that covered now, and you're learning a new language and culture and then decide, "Hey, I'm going to make my way in the world right here and right now." Would any of us be able to do that as an 18-year-old American right out of high school plopped down in Normandy or Brittany? Few if any, I suspect. What she is doing is nothing short of incredible.

Matt, Berenice, her mother and father

Berenice with her parents and John Ten Have

Garrett Ten Have Chapman

The other day we joined a tour group from Aquinas College's Osher Lifelong Learning Center and  took a bus to visit the Detroit Institute of Arts. Visiting the museum had been on our to-do list for some months now and when we heard that the OLLI folks were planning a trip we took advantage of letting someone else drive there and back.

We left Grand Rapids at 8:30 in the morning and were back home by 5:30 -- and since it's about 6 hours there and back we spent about twice as much time on the road as we did on the museum. No matter, we had plenty of time to savor the treasures of all three floors and since it was raining the entire time it was good to be inside anyway.

The building's architecture is fantastic, well-represented by two of the main halls:

Riviera Court

The Great Hall

At the top of our must-see spaces were the Dutch Golden Age, British, Italian, Medieval and Renaissance, and American rooms. We weren't disappointed.

"View of Rutland, Vermont, 1840" by Asher Durand

Self portrait 1887 by Vincent Van Gogh

"Woman in an armchair" 1874 by Pierre Auguste Renoir

"Café scene in Paris" 1874 by Henri Gervex

The one was one of our favorites:

"The nut gatherers" 1882 by Adolphe-William Bougereau

Completing 69 years

Yesterday I successfully completed my 69th year and this morning, as I will now every morning the day after my birth,  I recall the death of my older brother, Donald Jr., a year ago this very day. We differed in age and temperament, rarely saw things "eye-to-eye" and seemed to argue about nearly everything and anything -- when we saw each other, which was rarely. We did agree on two things: our love and concern for our father and that we were brothers; he will always be my big brother, the teenager who looked out for his baby brother, and in the end that was all that mattered.

Feelings of melancholy aside today, yesterday was grand and Susan treated me to a very special birthday: first off, she had ordered up gorgeous weather for us here in western Michigan. I was treated to a late breakfast at Nonna's in Ada, then Susie and I stopped at the Grand Rapids library to browse -- one of my most favorite pastimes ever since I found myself virtually alone in the small town of Canby, Minnesota.

From the library we drove to the Grand Rapids Public Museum, which, being a Tuesday we seemed to have nearly all to ourselves. After  an hour or two strolling the nearly empty galleries we drove to Dick's Sporting Goods along the infamous 28th Street shopping strip where I got a new bike for my birthday! Thanks, Susie!!

The day, or I should say evening ended with birthday supper at my mother-in-law's condo -- right across the street from ours -- a meal that consisted of Bernice's Swiss Steak, mashed potatoes and green beans and cole slaw, finished off with ice cream for dessert. A delicious ending to a simply wonderful day.

Thanks especially to Susie and Bernice for a wonderful day,  thanks, Pop for giving me such a deep and profound love of ice cream and steak and thanks to Don for being my brother and taking care of me when I was little!

Take a tour of the ghostly Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale in the Bois de Vincennes

Join Adam Roberts of Invisible Paris blog as he leads a tour of the exotic Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale in the Bois de Vincennes:

"As part of the worldwide Obscura Day events on Saturday May 6 I will be hosting a tour of the ghostly Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale in the Bois de Vincennes. The Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale was originally the site of an experimental nursery that searched for ways to improve the cultivation of tropical plants and trees that would then be sent out for planting across the empire. The hothouses in the gardens were filled with exotic trees including coffee, cocoa, banana, and vanilla, and attempts were also made to grow these plants outside on site."

 To read more about the gardens or for information about the tour and to make a reservation visit his blog.

The one thing you should definitely ask about your cataract surgery

Three weeks ago yesterday I had the first of two cataract surgeries. My left eye was the first to go under the knife as it were and it went off without a hitch. Except for one thing: I have double vision as a result of the nerve block used to anesthetize the eye. 

A week later, at my post-op evaluation the doctor suggested that the issue was caused by the use of an injectable anesthetic and decided that we would go with a topical anesthetic for the right eye, which was done just a week ago this past Wednesday. That, too, went off with no problem.

I can see crystal-clear out of both eyes it's just they don't "see" things quite together. They don't track in synch as it were. It's pretty much all the time although depends on which way I tilt my head or how far away an object is. Closing one eye is the only concrete solution for the moment.

I bring all this up for the benefit of anyone who might be faced with cataracts and the need to remove them -- after all, some 4 million Americans last year alone had cataract surgery. The information provided before the procedures and the evaluations performed by both technicians and physicians covered pretty much every issue but one: I was never asked if I wanted a nerve block (injecting an anesthetic) or a topical anesthetic. 

Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but had I been asked I would have opted for the topical, out of queasiness over having someone stick a needle in (or even close) to my eye if nothing else. As it turned out I didn't feel anything at the time although others in the room where I was prepped certainly did. 

But the important thing is while the incidence of nerve damage from an anesthetic block is considered to be very low -- so we were told after the fact -- still, it's good to be given the option of going topical. And I must say topical worked just fine for my right eye.

So now I'm faced with the possibility of some days, weeks, or months before I regain my proper focus. Or it may never return. But I'm hoping for the best. 

And so should you.

Just ask, that's all.