02 juin 2005
Tadpoles
Observations from my journal today:
I'm at the lake with Gil--Lake Laffrey, about 25 km outside of Grenoble. The only clouds in the sky are in one wide and feathery strip, like a daytime Milky Way. The beach is made of pebbles and the water is shallow and full of inky black blind tadpoles. I've never seen so many tadpoles outside of a middle school science classroom. Swimming frantically, but aimlessly, they truly resemble sperm.
A few minutes ago, two svelte French girls arrived and set up their towels near us. One of them--the poutier and more svelte, and thus instantly hateable--started squealing in disgust and horror when she saw the tadpoles in the water. Wimp. Even more reason to hate her. Not that I'd actually hate someone for being pretty and tan and having perfect skin...
All around us, there are young men and women of Arab origins wearing flashy swimsuits--the women's are one size too small, the men's, one size too large--and talking on their cellphones.
There's approximately 1.5 people brave enough to be in the water (meaning: three people with half their bodies submerged) and everyone else is watching them. This is no Lake Michigan, where you get in the water as long as it's hot outside and there's no ice or dead fish floating in it.
I'm at the lake with Gil--Lake Laffrey, about 25 km outside of Grenoble. The only clouds in the sky are in one wide and feathery strip, like a daytime Milky Way. The beach is made of pebbles and the water is shallow and full of inky black blind tadpoles. I've never seen so many tadpoles outside of a middle school science classroom. Swimming frantically, but aimlessly, they truly resemble sperm.
A few minutes ago, two svelte French girls arrived and set up their towels near us. One of them--the poutier and more svelte, and thus instantly hateable--started squealing in disgust and horror when she saw the tadpoles in the water. Wimp. Even more reason to hate her. Not that I'd actually hate someone for being pretty and tan and having perfect skin...
All around us, there are young men and women of Arab origins wearing flashy swimsuits--the women's are one size too small, the men's, one size too large--and talking on their cellphones.
There's approximately 1.5 people brave enough to be in the water (meaning: three people with half their bodies submerged) and everyone else is watching them. This is no Lake Michigan, where you get in the water as long as it's hot outside and there's no ice or dead fish floating in it.
