It’s been some time since I updated my whereabouts and doings on this site.
Yesterday I spent flying from Paris to Philadelphia, with a stop in Dublin. Today I’m in my life-long friend Maria’s home in Collingswood, N.J., USA, where I will spend a couple of weeks, then to another friend’s house when Maria fills hers with family members arriving to attend a memorial service for her late husband, Craig A. Tahamont, who died of the complications of Alzheimer’s disease in July.
Craig was among my longest and best friends, and I’m honored to be giving one of the eulogies in his memory at the service here on September 23.
This blog, however, has taken a back seat to my obsession with A Memoirist’s Journey, a twice-monthly newsletter about writing a memoir about my retirement, travels, and life.
Memoir is a fascinating writing genre I’m constantly learning more about.
What I’ve learned so far is that there is much to learn and practically no wrong or right way to construct the memoir of one’s own life, except with honesty and desire to express the truth of your existence so that others may take away something of value for themselves from the story you reveal of yourself.
The Sept. 4 edition will be my 11th, and if you are not already a subscriber, I invite you to join the growing list of regular subscribers by clicking on “A Memoirist’s Journey,” in the menu at the top of this blog’s homepage, so that each new edition will be delivered automatically to your email inbox.
I’ve added a new page to the realontheroad.com menu to mark the 10th edition. It’s an archive of each published issue, so if you’re just joining or want to review past issues, they are available now by clicking the the AMJ Memoir page in the main menu at realontheroad.com.
Recently, following Rolf Potts’ Travel Writing Workshop in Paris, which I attended in early August for the second year, I moved to the small residential village of Evecquement, about 40 kilometers from Paris. It’s situated on a hill rising a few kilometers up from the banks of the Seine River in a bucolic country setting of historic homes along narrow streets and lovely gardens, surrounded by a forest full of trails for walking.
The exteriors of the homes reflect an older, traditional style of architecture giving the village a pleasingly quaint look, while the interiors feature modern conveniences.
Unless you love walking like I do, however, it’s better that you have a car, since there are no shops or stores in the village of any kind, although everything you might need is available within three to four kilometers.
I stayed in an Airbnb that was hosted by a lovely couple, Thierry and Sandrine, who helped make my month-long stay delightful. Look for them on the Airbnb site for Evecquemont.
Hey Dave I finally got to read your last email and then I jumped on this site to catch up. It’s an interesting journey you’re taking down the road of memory. I was retelling a memory to some lifelong friends and neighbors from Billings Ave…my sister was there too. When I finished my recollection…my sister corrected almost the entire retelling. 😏 My advice would be tell your story…
Keep posting! Looking forward to hearing your eulogy for The Chief!