Road closed: Choices

One can go around, one can go by another root, but one can not go through this road.

Why we choose to take, to show one image and not another, between so many possibilities around us?

The image tells us something.

This road-block spoke to me about "closed road", roads I could not take. Roads that closed before me. Sometimes, I had to take a very long route to arrive where I have wanted to, because of that one road closed.

It is true, that often, at the long range, the detour become more interesting, my life richer, but how long it seemed at the time to have that road closed for me!

.When I met Elena Ceausescu, and because of that short meeting was forbidden to continue my research, then to work anywhere in the country, and then, just before my last test forbidden to finish my studies, life seemed so dark, all colors gone out from it.

It took us two years to go out of the country, it took me almost 15 years to obtain a diploma, instead of that lost, when I was young. It is a long time, fifteen years.

"You cannot begin to study again at that age!" I was told. I'll do. I need to prove to myself, and I do need a diploma, too. I was not 25 years old but past 40 when I finally got it. But I did.

All those thoughts coming out from a simple roadblock, near my house. And it is not even this with the truck going near it, passing, that opened the "gate" to all these ideas, it was this one.

When I could no more follow the normal, usual, hoped for way, I had to make a very long detour, but yes, finally I did arrive to something similar if not identical.

I also had the incentive to go out, to find a new country, to begin a new life, and I found a free society outside the blocked place, where I would have stayed otherwise.

There are so many, often unconscious thoughts and feelings when we take one photo instead of another, and sometimes we do now at the moment why, other times we find out later, or remain with the image without even realizing how profound its meaning affect us.

Blue sky great clouds

It was cold, but looking at the sky, I told myself "the spring is not far away". I was wrong.

An hour later, the snow arrived on London.

No, it did not last, it did snow only five minutes, enough to put some on the cars, enough for the girls to dance in the snow with joy.

I did not "got" the dancing girls, as the snow stopped, in less then three minutes, or five.

My grand daughter went out without coat, dancing in the snow, almost eating it, let it come on her face: it was a joy too look at her and the other girls too.

Do I dare to go out now? It did snow a blt also this night.

BBC Learning English Dot Com

Linking on the web is so important!

One can go from one to the other and discover, waw, lots of important things.

This morning I got an email "circuits" from New York Times, as usual each week, and from there I found a link to another article in the same journal about "learning languages on the web" and from theire, to the free language learning from BBC.

At first, I was unhappy, that all there was up the front where languages one can learn, when one IS English, but going down the page it was also English!

You can learn also English: pronunciation, spelling, grammar, etc. with podcasts (radio or voice) or even videos! and also, of course text. A very nice woman in the video does show you all the 44 English sounds, so much more then the 26 letters, plus of ourse, never used or not often as one should believe.

Not only that, but also example of linking words together, not prononcing some of the letters at all, etc. Great examples, to go back, to listen!

 

There was once, also direct "insert video" there is no more, so I'll have to insert it differently, or just give a link, to it, to let it see on the bbc web site.

Anyway, each of us can discover what we are interested, as long as we find the first link to it. When a year ago I was looking at learning pronunciation, I did not find this site. But perhaps the time for it arrived, now.

For all those "sounds" written here in international "letters" there is a somewhat more or less English way to say it, some of it, I could find equivalent in my first language, Hungarian, other in Romanian, and others nothing at all in any others then English. Those sounds from coming from far or very close, I am not sure I'll ever pronounce well, but at least, I can learn not to say "pioneer" as in Romanian or French, but do say pajoniar, instead of I or Ia, to say Aj - aie!

Choices

It is not easy when one takes photos to decide which will catches others eyes, or make them want to see one of them again. Here are five photos, and a story, that was thus chosen. I am happy to see that two of them are from the 1est of January London parade, three from my Paris street walks. Moments in life caught.

My own prefered from these one's is the old man crossing the street slowly, going home after he had bought a bagette. It was taken at the spur of the moment from far, this one and another when he was a bit farther. I could do it, because he went so slowly.

I was also fascinated with the old Chinese elegant gentleman, making gym movements in the park of the 3rd arrondissmant one morning. Somehow, so "un-French" to do it so dressed up and in open. This was also taken from far away, also for the young women, I did ask and she even looked back again and smiled happy that I said I admire how she looks.


Here is another screen dump from Flickr River, using my favorited pictures, one can see six then other six, but somehow, strangely, those so different pictures go well together. Just some tables waiting for spring and customers, a speeding moto while all the cars, and me too in mine were waiting for the road to clear up, a new summer dressed beautiful girl I admired but did not ask for permission to take in Paris 18e, the duck at in Raymond, the London Tube (the only one who is from last year here) and some flowers from May in Argenteuil, as I do remember.

How all  this disparate images go together, I am not sure, but I feel they do.

Baguette from Boulengerie Jade

In fact, there are lots of places one can find a good baguette in London, this was only one of the prettiest.

But it was also good.

I just finished the last part of it this morning.

The problem with this kind of bread, most of French baguettes indeed, is that they do not last. They dry very fast, or become crunchy, alas.

It is said "when you are dealt a lemon, make a lemonade", this morning, I made a Toast from the last part of it.

It was more difficult to think about my yesterday storytelling, with which even if its evaluation was great, I found pitiful. At the beginning, I was searching for words, was not sure enough of myself. Afraid to pronounce badly one word, I did mispronounce badly the other.

Only half way, my story got off the ground and my telling improved a bit. And of course, the nice welcome of the audience, helped me too, also it was the worse of my contact with the audience, from the beginning of last year!

Well, next time can be only better...

But at least, in my blog about Competent Communication, I"ll have what to analyze, what to discuss, and finally, make a lemonade from the lemon.

No more snow

It looks gray and bare, but somewhere the life is there, and soon, in a ew weeks, the trees will become green again.

I do not despair.

Six years ago, I opened my first (french) blog, in five years of blogging, lot has happened, and I did prove what was my intention at the first day, what I just hoped I could: There is life after 70.

Until I am 80 at least, I can tell, can I not, I am after 70?

The readers of my blog, and those who looked, and sometimes even commented on them, understood my meanings, or discussed it with me, helped me to live a fuller life.

This blog, begun a lot later, when I begin to think that I'll go to London, and of course, after my arrival here it went on, learning slowly to communicate, perhaps a bit better in English.

What is interesting is that each of my blogs has its own characteristic, its life, its personality, of which I was not really aware when I begun them. Each shows part of me, more or less private or public part.

And now, I have to add also my newest one "Competent Comunicator", the name of the Toastmasters Manual. As much as I would like to become, better, I did not become "competent communicator" just by giving my first ten - even 12 speeches, and reading books or beginning to tell stories.

I opened that blog, to speak in it about public speaking and storytelling and all what is around it. To tell about from where one can learn and how, at least a bit of my experience.

Opening a new blog, after my 75 years, just proves I was not entirely wrong when I decided my first's blog title: there is life after seventy, and the web did and does help me to make it even better.

Some images from Argenteuil, France