Ménage à trois

Labor day, 2010, is dawning calm, serene and coolish. Much better than the past two days where the wind was whipping around at 30 mph piling up 4 foot swells on the river and intermittantantly dropping a downpour interspersed with sparkling sunshine. It was truly a weekend for enjoying indoor activities nestled around the fireplace. And I must confess to spending the entire last two days in my comfortable easy chair with my nose in a novel. It was a pleasure to sit inside reading and occasionally peeking out the window past the giant spider ensconced in her enormous web to watch the neighbors and their traditional Labor day guests frolic in the yard bundled up in their hoodies and playing that toss- the- sack- through- the- hole-in the board game. Those young people came to have fun and have fun they did; weather or no. They frolicked like the puppies who'd accompanied them, BBQd, drank beer, and just had a fun time. The only traditional activity that was neglected was the huge bonfire, which would have endangered their camp and ours, with the wind as strong as it was.

Reading reminds me of my grand-daughter; 14 year old Hailey (15 in Nov.) who was here from Texas to spend the first 3 weeks of Aug. with us here by the shores of the sparkling St. Lawrence river. Hailey is a voracious reader. I'm guessing that while she was here she must have read at least 12 novels, maybe more. She could easily polish one off in a day or day and a half. I think "The Life of PI" took her 2 1/2 days.

She also read the newest edition of France, a UK published magazine that graces our table 6 times a year. It is basically a magazine to satiate the francophone's desire to see as many old and picturesque medieval french towns and villages as possible. There are articles to teach the reader about the french culture and even a few exercises to assist one in gaining a working knowledge of the romance of the French language. Hailey got to the magazine before me and although we didn't know it at the time, an article with-in contained a reference to the term Menage a trois.

Thus, seemingly out of the blue, Hailey inquires of her grand mother, when the two of them were alone, "Grand-ma, what does menage a trois mean?" Caught unawares my wife, who like myself has never shied away from the tough questions from our children nor our grand children, said;" Hailey it refers to 3 people having sex together."

" OOOHHH,...... Mama got a bottle of wine as a gift and it said menage a trois on the label."

"Someone must have given it to your mother as a gag gift," chuckles grandma.

"I don't think so," says Hailey. Mama doesn't know any French so she wouldn't know what that meant."

Out of the mouths of babes!