Friday, August 15, 2014
Today was the Feast of the Assumption, a holy day of obligation for practicing Roman Catholics. Most of us go to Mass not knowing why an earlier holiday, which marks Christ's return to heaven after the Resurrection is called --Ascenscion Day, while today --which marks his mother Mary's reception into heaven-- is called "Assumption". At Notre Dame du Cros it was explained that Mary entered heaven body and soul --something the rest of us will only do --if we are good- at the Last Judgment.
At Notre Dame du Cros, the church was standing room only, with many young people in attendance. There are whole families that go, second and third generations. Today, Father Philippe Piet, who serves Mass six days a week without help, was joined by a more senior cleric, an older man. There were also two cantors unknown to me, and two readers with whom I was also unfamiliar.
On the Feast of the Assumption the church is full because it is the feast day of Notre Dame du Cros, Caunes' particular protector. The date also falls about two weeks from the end of the summer vacation for school children, and marks the beginning of the period when parents have to take the allowance they are given from the French state for school-aged children and buy books and notebooks and pens and school bags for them. At this time of year the supermarkets all set aside a section to sell these articles. The return to school is called "La rentrée", but the term also refers to the end of the August holiday most French take and the return to the 9-to-5.
So there's a sense that the season is nearing its end. The summer has been dismal in most of France: the news reported that on average, 90% more rain fell since July 1 than the previous summer. In some parts of France it was even more rainy: Strasbourg received 225% more rain than last year! And quite a few of the Atlantic and Channel beaches have been plagued by green algae, the proliferation of which has been abetted by the heavy rains. As a result, swimming has been prohibited at those beaches.
Notwithstanding, tourism has not been affected: France remains the most visited country in the world, and there was no let-up in the number of foreigners who visited this summer. That --as the newscaster pointed out-- is the one bit of good economic news in an otherwise dismal economic picture. The latest statistics released show that, just as in the first three months of the year, in the second quarter, the French economy failed to get off the ground. It will be a difficult entrée.
***
Beau, of course, is unperturbed. He has another girlfriend: "Pippa" --a nine-month Australian shepherd who lives in a house on the way home from the soccer field. Every morning Beau and Pippa meet and exchange kisses across chain link fence: Pippa lives enclosed within the borders of the property. The two remind me of Pyramus and Thisbe: separated from each other by an artificial barrier, they commune amorously in the interstices.
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