My town. Can I say that, even if I was not born here? What makes a town yours? Is it by the roots that sprout forward as you water them with your steps?
Our family has lived in this town for over twenty years.
My street, where I live….
The remains of a bakery sign, the center of the town has moved in the last fifty years, the center use to be located on my street. Part of our house use to be the butchery now vegetarians have transformed it into a home.
Kinda odd isn't it?
The old turn of the century mailbox. There are three left. The mailboxes, the street lamps, and benches along with other parts of history are being replaced with new things… New things that will not last half as long, and do not "speak" French to me, not that I speak French but you know what I mean.
French homes have shutters. The latches are artwork in themselves. The shutters are not just decorative, they are opened in the morning, closed if the day is very hot as a way to keep the house cool, or closed if the owners are going out as a way to protect their home from intruders, and closed before they go to bed, most French people sleep in complete darkness.
I sleep with my window open… this habit keeps me from being French… that fact and a few thousand more… like my non French name, the way I hold my fork and knife, my "tres grand" accent, my habit of walking around barefoot, … and that I don't like coffee no matter how hard I try.
The French doorways in my town are at least two hundred years old or older. The hardware still works, the solid hard wood doors are as good as new… of course this being said by someone who sees old, peeling, somewhat broken as a piece of functional art.
The town where I live is small, it sits at the base of the St Baume mountain and has a small river that runs through it. It is not chic nor touristic, it is simple and surrounded by vines, olive trees and red clay soil that is used for Ravel pottery. Most the families who live here can trace their family history back a thousand years. Though in the last few years many new families have moved in and built new homes in the vineyards and olive orchards.
We live in the center, in a maison du village.
In my town there are sixteen fountains, they run with fresh spring water this one is on our street.
What does your street look like?
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