More than Candy Eggs by Jane Tolbert

My fondest memories of Easter are a jumble of colors, the race to collect the most eggs, new dresses that we wore in chilly weather and how cold we were in our short-sleeved dresses with purses that looked like little bird cages. There were the daffodils at a family farm in northern Virginia, religious celebrations and, of course, too much candy.

When I first visited France, the story was that church bells, which had been silent for a few days because they traveled to Rome, left chocolate eggs on their return home. But things have changed, and today the Easter bunny competes with the bells (bunnies are easier to market).

The egg hunts, which disappeared when we became older, returned when my kids were small. They competed with the family dog in the race for the most eggs. From this amalgam of candy-coated memories, I had one question—why is Easter a movable feast? That is, Easter is a holiday that moves around the calendar and can take place between March 22 and April 25. To add to the confusion, western and Orthodox Christians use two different calendars (the Gregorian and the Julian) to determine the date of Easter and often celebrate on different days.

From ancient times, celebrations around the spring equinox have been associated with death and resurrection. With Christianity, the method of dating Easter, established by the First Council of Nicea in 325 AD., became the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

When my sister and I left France to travel to Greece in 1982, Easter had been celebrated on April 11. We arrived in Patras (around April 18) to find streets were littered with red-dyed eggs (a symbol of resurrection and the blood of Christ), and the museums were closed not only for the religious holiday but for a strike. Of course, our planned day trips to see historical sites were further complicated by the fact signs for buses, schedules and attractions were in Greek.

My 17th-century friend, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580-1637), worked assiduously on the problem of the church calendar for the dating of movable feasts. He and other correspondents observed the movement of the Sun to determine the exact moment of the equinox, or when day and night are equal in length. An accurate calendar would enable the Catholic Church to determine the dates of Easter years in advance and help with the preparation of celebrations. What remains fascinating to me is that these astronomers, many of whom were priests, used churches as observatories. For example, by piercing a hole in the roof of the church and using a meridian, or north-south, line, often a brass rod embedded in the floor and marked with divisions, these observers were able to trace the daily passage of the noonday Sun and hence the solar year.

For those of you who may want to plan two Easter celebrations (both religious and commercial), this is not the year. Both western and eastern traditions celebrate Easter on April 4. But that will not prevent kids from freezing in their Easter outfits as they hunt eggs throughout the world.

It's in the Stars by Jane Tolbert

Feeling blah. In a funk. J’ai le cafard. Il faut me remettre . . . . Weather or planetary alignment? Maybe the explanation lies in my horoscope. . . .

Horoscopes these days are consulted for romance, business endeavors, finances or those cranky attitudes that can’t be attributed to anything else. In earlier times, princes and kings placed the utmost importance on their horoscopes, consulting them prior to invasions, marriages, political alliances or perhaps even to explain that royal “cafard.”

Astronomers like Kepler supplemented their incomes by making astrological predictions. Anne of Austria asked for the horoscope of the dauphin, the future Louis XIV. Apparently, this early horoscope was not too favorable, but Louis XIV lived for 72 years, proclaimed, “L’état c’est moi,” enjoyed the pomp and splendor of Versailles and depleted the treasury.

On March 21, with that feeling of the “cafard” intensifying for no reason, I consulted both American and French horoscopes to learn what the stars and planets had in store for me. None of my horoscopes was particularly encouraging. MSNBC implied that my dreams would come to fruition if I showed patience. After a rough week, the horoscope implied the weekend would provide a respite. The French Yahoo site mentioned that personal relationships were coming unraveled. Take a break, it advised. Recharge my batteries. Although the daily horoscope is free, the week-long version is 2,95 Euros, and the extended version is 11,95 Euros. Best to avoid that expenditure if it means more bad news.

Madame Figaro provides a daily barometer that has four categories (with icons ranging from a smiling sun to a frowning, gray cloud). Bien être (well being), carrière (career), humeur (disposition or temperament) and amour (love). A sunny icon said that in terms of energy and vitality, I am “dopée,” or psyched. Career, another sunny icon, promised an “auspicious time” in terms of a finding a job. That is good news in today’s recession. A frowning, gray cloud by the category disposition meant that I have the “tendency to see things negatively and to become angry at things that are unimportant.” Another gray icon clouded love and relations with friends and family.

These horoscopes only reinforced my "cafard." What would royalty do with such a week of dire predictions? Or did astrologers generally give rosy horoscopes just to retain a lucrative position in a royal court? I will check again next Sunday to see if the forecast has improved.

Wait! There’s one more—the horoscope page from the Closer, a French movie star/ gossip magazine, was beneath work papers and my coffee cup. The horoscope for Taurus reads like this: “You will finally achieve your dreams. The fear of failure had made you forget about them. Now, you are finally ready.”

Given that stars and planets are aligned in my favor (for now), I’d better stop.

Vizcaya, the Next Big Thing by Jane Tolbert

An Italian Renaissance palazzo on Biscayne Bay. A French tea house. Docks for gondolas. Fountains with tiny jets of water reminiscent of the Moorish influence. Grottos, secret gardens, mossy fountains, graceful stairways and wide alleys. Weathered statuary and carvings, some of which emerges from the rock. Vestiges from the Renaissance or an illusion? In his foreword to a book on Vizcaya, Carl Weinhardt quoted Shakespeare’s As Your Like it: “All the world’s a stage. . . .”



The stage was set by James Deering, who made his fortune with International Harvester. He hired an architect, landscaper, and interior decorator to build a palazzo overlooking Biscayne Bay at a time when just about anything seemed possible in Florida. Natural resources appeared unlimited. The Everglades were being drained to create an agricultural cornucopia as well as rid the state of what was then considered a wasteland. Carl Fisher developed Miami Beach and George Merrick, Coral Gables.
“Nothing of the size and scope of the proposed Vizcaya estate had been attempted in Florida before this time,” wrote Doris Bayley Littlefield, curator of collections, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, and author of the book, Vizcaya.



To have a small Italian Renaissance palazzo overlooking Biscayne Bay does seem somewhat frivolous, particularly given Deering’s penchant for original European furnishings, antiquities, marbles and the elaborate detail of the construction itself.

In 1916, he opened his estate to family, friends and celebrities. More recently, it has been the setting of a papal visits, movies and fund raisers. Vizcaya may have been a stage set for sumptuous parties back in its heyday. But today the stage is set for quinceañeras.

One Sunday in late January we visited Vizcaya. More than 15 years had passed since I had seen the gardens and the resident cats, and I had never visited the interior. The wind blew in gusts, and the clouds covered the skies. We waited in line to pay our $15 admission and watched a type of staged performance as a photographer, lighting technician, a makeup artist and anxious parents fluttered around a young girl dressed in a billowing, marigold-colored gown. Her entourage helped her gather the large skirts of the gown, refreshed makeup and shouted directives for the next photo shoots. Someone in line explained the importance of this rite of passage as a young girl makes the transition into womanhood, which implies not only her coming out but also her acceptance of responsibility. This girl was only one of numerous quinceañeras we could see that blustery day.
Unlike Versailles or the Biltmore, Vizcaya is a palazzo on a manageable scale. The gardens are enticing, and they encourage visitors to linger or even sit alongside the basins. In contrast, the interior seemed very formal, too contrived, with its décor just a little too heavy and ornate, and with a view of Biscayne Bay nearly obscured by draperies. Back in the gardens, descendants of the original cats lingered near the sandwich stand awaiting handouts (I shared my grilled cheese). One quinceañera stood in the public bathroom applying more makeup. Vizcaya continues to offer a dream-like stage.

Aquiferious, a Tribute by Jane Tolbert

In Aquiferious, artist Margaret Ross Tolbert combines a series of 12 essays about her favorite springs with contributions by scientists, conservationists and adventurers, all of whom share a vision of the springs—the need to protect a precious natural resource. Photographs, drawings, maps and facts are deftly incorporated by graphic designer Jarrod Ryhal.

The springs have been the subject of paintings for more than 20 years, and, as an artist, Tolbert brings a unique perspective, which she explains below:

Objects look stretched and distended in a shallow, shelf-like space; a diver is a flattened, twisted scrap of paper. Things seem to hover above the water level of the spring, in an ocean of crystal clear empty space where boats float on air; turtles and fish are suspended, motionless, lit from below by a strange phosphorescence. But put on a mask and enter the springs: the small warped space is violently blown open; you feel you are flying in a room that expands in all directions. Light seems to come from everywhere . . . It’s another planet embedded within our own, with its own rocks, light and atmosphere. We can stand on the edge of the rocks and glimpse this different world, but it is only when we enter that we experience it.

For many of us, the springs provide a much-needed transition into an underwater world. The 700 freshwater springs in Florida, the largest concentration in the world, offer an amalgam of experiences. Some are well-known tubing sites, others provide networks of caverns and tunnels and still others are just local watering holes that provide a respite from the heat.

The springs have an intangible quality that has been immortalized for centuries. Descriptions from William Bartram’s Travels 1773-1776) of “diaphanous” waters (135) in which “armies of fish were pursuing their pilgrimage to the grand pellucid fountain” (157) continue to be quoted today. Marjorie Stoneman Douglas called them “bowls of liquid light” Naturalist Archie Carr described them as “little ecologic jewels”

That continuous flow of water gives the impression that the springs, which took millions of years to form, are eternal, perpetual. But many are in danger of disappearing in our lifetime. The recharge areas have suffered from pollution, and the Florida hydrology has been subjected to years of abuse. The demands of a growing population combined with a poor water management policy have accelerated their decline.


As Tolbert writes in her introduction, “If one our hallowed mountains, Mr. Rainier or Mt. McKinkey, lost 15 percent of its mass and 3,000 meters of height in the last century, most would consider it to be a cataclysmic event, portending the end of the world and possibly even a threat to the resources and security of the United States.”

Aquiferious provides a tribute to the springs. My appreciation goes to the artist, the contributors and individuals who work to protect the springs.


Contributors:
• Margaret Ross Tolbert, art and narrative
• Bill Belleville
• Stefan Craciun
• Eric Hutcheson
• Howard Jelks
• Denise Trunk Krigbaum
• Jon Martin
• Tom Morris
• Don Roundtree
• Georgia Shemitz
• Jim Stevenson

Signs of Perspicacious Dogs by Jane Tolbert

When I first moved to France years ago, I lived in Fontainebleau, which is located about an hour from Paris. It’s a city with an established aristocracy and known for its hôtels particulars, or private mansions.

I often walked from the downtown area or the chateau along Rue St. Honoré to the woods. Three houses with massive stone walls and iron gates seemed to compete with their dog warning signs. The first sign said: Chien mechant, the next, chien mechant et peu nourri (mean and undernourished dog), and the final, chien mechant, peu nourri, et perspicace (this dog had the added quality of perspicuity). Those photos are somewhere in my boxes of 35 mm slides.

The South of France didn’t seem to have this fierce neighborhood competition, or maybe the dogs did not exhibit the traits of being undernourished and perspicacious. Sometimes, instead of warnings about dogs (real or otherwise), I found constellations of small signs carrying the names of villas.



No dogs here from the looks of these signs (Vallauris).


Other examples from Châteauneuf-de-Grasse and Juan-les-Pins provided humorous warnings about the resident dog or his master. For example, one sign at a house on the Traverse St. Jeaume read, “The dog welcomes you, but watch out for his master.”



Back here in the States, fences and yards only carry warnings, “Beware of Dog.” Couldn’t the owners do better?

Those Plastic Bags by Jane Tolbert

What do socks in the dryer, lazy Sunday afternoons and recyclable shopping bags have in common? They disappear.

Each time I go to France, I stock up on heavy plastic or canvas bags. My kids are perplexed. Why would I continue to buy bags! Am I becoming a “bag lady” as I age? Suitcases filled with recyclable bags may raise alarm. But it really needs no explanation. If I lend someone books or carry food to a party, I usually forget to recover the bag.

These bags are sold in all supermarkets for a couple of Euros. They bear environmental mottos like, “Act for the environment” or, “In acting together, we truly act.” They carry the logos of Carrefour, Casino or Champion, some of the larger supermarket chains. Increasingly, in the States, more of these bags have become available in hopes that they will replace the fluttery plastic bags that clog the environment.

A Wall Street Journal article (Jeffrey Bell, “Paper or Plastic?” 6-12-09) points out that these little plastic grocery bags, introduced approximately 30 years ago as the next big thing because of their durability and inexpensive costs, have an adverse environmental impact. It is not as much the problem of bags in the landfill but rather the untethered bags that float through the ecosystem, choking waterways and animals.

Although in recent years, French grocery stores have sold the small plastic bags to the unprepared customer, generally shoppers always carry their own shopping bags or a small string net. The reusable sturdy bags are in the trunks of cars and accumulate under kitchen sinks. The French also bag their own groceries. Back in the States, however, I often forget my bags in the trunk of my car and stand by as an employee fills countless plastic bags with my purchases.

As of Jan. 1, 2010, only biodegradable bags can be sold in French grocery stores. Stateside, San Francisco has led the way as the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags (2007). No legislation has been passed in Florida, but customers are starting to bring their own bags, and stores insist they have recycling efforts in place. But probably more individuals will follow this example if I continue to leave reusable bags with friends and acquaintances.
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A few interesting things can be created from plastic bags. Visit Joshua Allen Harris’ inflatable polar bear that springs to life when attached to subway grates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-a607j2dOo

Le monde a l'envers by Jane Tolbert

This image is taken from the archives of the BN available at www.gallica.fr.

Years ago, I visited Nice at the time of carnival. Numerous decorations-- including a dancing ayatollah, which was quickly dismantled—lined the Place Massena. The figures on the floats—often called the “grosses têtes,” or big heads-- presented burlesque caricatures with bulging eyes, bright colors that emphasized a theme. In the excitement of my frantic picture taking (it was my first carnival), my purse “disappeared,” but my spirits remained high with the energy created by this “monde a l’envers.”

Some years later, I gained another perspective, the behind-the-scene preparations for the carnival. I accompanied an Opio pre-school class to a large warehouse where workers assembled the “grosses têtes.” This carnival work was something of a family tradition, passed down for generations, from father to son. Back at the school in Opio, parents and teachers supervised as children constructed their own masks. Although some disappointments occurred--notably, the shrinking of the papier mâché heads that made the masks difficult or impossible to wear-- on Mardi Gras, a procession of school kids wound through the streets of Opio, dressed in their costumes and elaborate masks and brandishing noise-makers that ranged from small horns to kitchenware and a few antique drums loaned by Ninon or Michel from their antique store.

Although historically carnivals have appealed to all social classes, the Nice carnival has catered increasingly to tourism. The expense of tickets for the grandstands and fenced areas (between 10 and 40 euros) prevents many of the locals from attending the main events such as the Battle of Flowers. However, the floats can still be seen outside of scheduled events.

Local attempts to continue a 20-year tradition of a small carnival in Nice have met with resistance. Permission to hold the independent “ Carnaval de Saint Roch has been denied due to the violence associated with the past year’s event. Comments posted in the Nice Matin on Feb. 2, 2010, provide some insight into the tradition. Most writers complained about the lack of spontaneity of the organized carnival, the loss of the Niçois tradition under the guise of security concerns. As AlainB writes (Feb. 10, 2010), “We live in a time of standardization, drab and very disciplined.” ProvenPat also points to the “exclusion” of the Niçois from local events and the loss of folklore with the disappearance of the popular street carnivals.

Carnivals (or Mardi Gras celebrations) are known for the pulsating atmosphere, lavish decorations and excess that precedes the fasting (or giving up certain foods) associated with Lent. Historically, the carnival provided the “monde à l’envers,” or an upsid- down world in which roles were reversed (jesters became king for a day in the Fête des Fous). It’s no surprise that many of these activites were curtailed just because of the rowdy behavior of participants or the inclination to ridicule officials.

The problems of commercialization or loss of a tradition aside, this year’s carnival has been centered on an ecological theme—the introduction of a sustainable way of thinking (the blue planet) and the end of the old ways (the dinosaur). The carnival will bring attention to the problems faced by the planet, and many of its props are made with recyclable materials.

This year, I can travel only virtually to the carnival. I will miss the energy of large, festive crowds (but will not lose my purse) but not the logistics of getting to the carnival. I can ponder the pros and cons of commercialization and tourism to the detriment of folklore and popular events. I can think about the way in which the carnival brings life into the winter season in Nice (or other cities like New Orleans). So much to think about.

I wonder what the kids in Opio did this year? Did they march the streets in their masks with their noisemakers? Let’s hope that the spirit of tradition lives on in the smaller festivals that enable children to experience a carnival first hand.
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I probably won't make the Nice carnival next year, but I would like to see New Orleans.

To see the images of the Nice carnival, please visit the following sites:
www.nicematin.fr (for a photo gallery) or http://www.nicecarnaval.com/carnaval/galerie-photo-corso-carnavalesque.php (the official carnival site).