Charles Degaulle was a very tall French guy...

I've decided to try and resurrect my once ordinary language skills. In high school, I spent two years in Paul Bouchard's French language class in Greenway High School. I also had a chance to practice my French skills outside of class, because Paul Bouchard was my tennis coach. I was pretty good at French, maybe not as good as Santini, who was going to major in it at one time, but has since taken on an Italian nickname, but it has been nearly 50 years since those classes were in session. They were fun classes, partly because of Paul Bouchard, and partly because the class was mostly girls, many of whom, I hasten to add, had crushes on the young French instructor.

I think that I will have need for some knowledge of French because of my resolve to take in a few matches at the French Open next spring. So I bought a book. I started to go through the book and felt some of the rust get rubbed off, but I have a ways to go to be anywhere near fluent. I'm on page 31, which has the heading, "Si vous voulez demander quelque chose," which is translated "if you want to ask for something." So far so good. I'll let you know how the learning, rather relearning process progresses.



I'm pretty sure I'll be able to improve and maybe be able to chat with some French folks in France. After all, about nine years ago I learned enough Norwegian to be able to thoroughly confuse some third cousins in the far north of Norway. I have little fear in this arena. Perhaps I should.

Tennis news of the day. My Saturday competition at Wooddale was not as successful as I had hoped. Bob and I lost a lopsided 6-1 set, but managed to eke out a 6-4 victory in the second. We started a third, but were shooed off the court with the score 0-3 by a father and daughter who began working hard on the youngster's ground strokes after we left. It was a good day, but I've had better ones. I play again tomorrow at a different venue.

December 22 will be my mom's 96th birthday. She was born in 1913 and has been gone for nearly 55 years. Coincidentally, Lady Bird Johnson was born on December 22, 1912. Charles DeGaulle was born on December 22, 1890, and was 23 when Mom was born. And we're now back to France and issues francais.