Frog In North Georgia

We picked up Grandma and went to lunch where we ran into Uncle Hugh, who if anyone remembers outranks me because he was born sooner.  He is not really my uncle, but a long time family friend.  He’s (obviously) been around longer than me.

Hugh is my favorite Englishman.  I don’t actually know where he was born or when he and his mother, who married an American, came to America.  But he can affect any form of American or English accent, which is a good party trick.  And of course the accents come and go of their own free will.

We just ordered when he appeared.  He works very close by.  So this was a nice surprise to run into him.  DD is mad about him.  I suspect she is still not convinced that he is not Santa.  Every year around November he grows a shaggy beard.  I had thought it was just for warmth.  But he told me today that no, it’s because the kids think he’s Santa.  And he thinks that’s damn funny.  DD told me today she knows it is Uncle Hugh and not Santa.  But she doesn’t seem certain.  When she was two she was certain he was Santa.

Grandma announced that she saw the French Presidents wife on tv.

I said, “Oh yes, Carla Bruni.  She’s a pop star.”

Grandma is pleased that Carla is a modern woman who has not given up her singing just because she married the French President.

Photo by beyrouth

I like that Sarkozy is of Russian immigrant parentage; and Obama is just as American as I am with his international background. Wahoo, first generation like me.  Then I mentioned that DH got very annoyed with me when I told him that because I was stunned that he did not recognize Sarkozy as a Russian name.

Really?  You didn’t know Sarkozy is Russian?  He hissed at me something like it’s a foreign name baby.

Right, we weird children of immigrant people all have weird names and are all alike in our weirdness.  No offense taken.

Grandma said in a conspiratorial whisper, “We always have a lot of White Russians in France.”

When she says White Russians, she means those with royal lineage, and often money.  I said, “Well now you just have a lot of Russians.  The Wall fell in 1989.”

On the way home we passed the sitting area in front of her building.  It has nice big garden boxes and lawn chairs and is somewhat sheltered from the wind.  It was empty.  Grandma announced, “No Russians today.”

I said, “No Russians today?”

She said, “Yes, we have a lot of them living here.  They like this weather.”

I said, “You mean cold, like the motherland?”

She said she guesses.

I said “Don’t guess, most of their ports are north of the 70th parallel and freeze in the winter.  It’s an excellent reason to invade your southern neighbors.”

She said, “Well, they like to come to France.”

I said, “Grandma, everyone likes to come to France.  The food is good and the economy isn’t collapsing.”

Tags: carla bruni, grandma, russian immigrant, sarkozy is russian, white russians.