Juice of the Orange.
On holiday in France last year, we were stretching our legs at a rest stop on one of the autoroutes. Never being one to mind my own business, I became interested in a man with a family, who was trying hard to finalise the family drinks order. He reminded me of Columbo, with his grubby raincoat and hunched over intense manner, as he jabbed his finger at each family member in turn saying "Cafe, cafe, jus d'orange..", then being interrupted by a request for extra milk or cake, then again, jab, jab, jab, "Cafe, cafe, jus d'orange.."
I don't know whether he finally managed to buy any drinks at all. That is not what concerns me here. What stuck in my mind was the strangeness, to my ears, of how nouns and adjectives go together in French. Juice of the orange. Bicycle of my grandmother. That's how it goes, adjective of the verb. Natural for francophones, archaic feeling for English speakers.
Imagine Peter Falk shambling into a diner, fixing the hapless server behind the counter with a lop-sided stare before saying "Gimme a.. a.. apple danish and a coffee to go", paying for his danish and coffee, then turning round and saying "Just one more thing.. a Juice of the Orange for the wife." I don't know about you, but it makes my mind reel.
I don't know whether he finally managed to buy any drinks at all. That is not what concerns me here. What stuck in my mind was the strangeness, to my ears, of how nouns and adjectives go together in French. Juice of the orange. Bicycle of my grandmother. That's how it goes, adjective of the verb. Natural for francophones, archaic feeling for English speakers.
Imagine Peter Falk shambling into a diner, fixing the hapless server behind the counter with a lop-sided stare before saying "Gimme a.. a.. apple danish and a coffee to go", paying for his danish and coffee, then turning round and saying "Just one more thing.. a Juice of the Orange for the wife." I don't know about you, but it makes my mind reel.
posted by vertebrate at 4:20 PM
4 Comments:
Good story, Vert. I'm amazed you never got into writing as a paying gig. You've always written so well.
Now that _is_ inspiring, coming from someone who did get into writing as a paying gig. Thanks for the affirmation. It means a lot to me. And who knows...?
Get on the case Vert, lecram's right.
Hey lecram, you ain't half bad either.
Yes Vert, your writing reminds me of someone we both know very well. I have always admired his writing, though I never bothered reading most of it...Mining was never an interest of mine.
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