Running for Your Life: More Why Paris

Written in the spirit of Joe Brainard’s “I Remember”:

• Because the line about armed soldiers clearing passersby at Parc Beaubourg for no apparent reason, “Making the world safe to wear six-inch heels,” tickles M

• Because the views from the top floor of the Pompidou museum are more varied and historically evocative than anywhere else I can imagine

• Because the Pompidou offers free admission to card-carrying journalists (me!) and not to writers/college professors (M!)

• Because despite that, M loved every minute of our visit to the Pompidou

• Because the view we saw that night (June 13) in the Gerhard Richter show occurred after a sudden thunderstorm – with Saint-Exupery-esque clouds scudding across the sky. It was still light at 9:30 at night

• Because my left pant leg was soaking wet from the downpour, still-bothersome during the Matisse but magically dry during the dazzling Richter which hardly anyone was attending

• Because I stood before Richter’s “Funeral” for more than a beat before we left

• Because M speaks French not only well but with impeccable manners

• Because now I don’t have to feel guilty about not having seen The Best Picture “The Artist.” (I’ve seen enough Jack Russell-owning Frenchmen to more than satisfy)

• Because the wine seller, who sold us a delicious boutique pinot noir, remembered me fondly from the day that I lost (then found!) the apartment key during our very nearly ruined stay in the Marais last October

• Because the line, “We’ll always have Paris,” doesn’t seem corny to me

• Because the first excerpt I read of Paul Auster’s “Winter Journal” memoir was of his taxi driver encounter in Paris

• Because I can sit on the New York City subway and dream of Paris. Every day if I want to . . .

Next: Running for Your Life: Keeping It Real