You Can Get There From Here

Bath has forever altered the stereotypical, Maine phrase "You can't get there from here." I witnessed this change last summer at the Heritage Days' Parade. Scattered among the colorful floats and marching bands, I spied banners waving with the bold statement: "You Can Get There From Here." At first, the banners confused me. Where did we all want to go? But then I understood the clever play on words. For me, those bold banners were proof positive that Bath is Maine's Cool Little City because you really can get there from here. Portland's international airport is only 45 minutes away, and its fleet of jets are ready to take you across the country or across the sea. Truth be told, within weeks of moving into my house on Washington Street, I met people from Great Britain and Colombia; from Ohio and New Jersey; from Virginia and Alabama. People really do come from all over to live in this city on the Kennebec. Bath's inviting Main Street encourages people from everywhere to talk with each other, and it is through their lively conversation that life's lessons are shared and spirits are lifted. Bath is a community of travelers, and that is why I feel so at home here!

My good friend Joni loves a Bowdoin polar bear!

As the earth beneath our feet turns soft for the first time in months, it's a good time to travel. Recently, I attended a College Board workshop in Melrose Park, Illinois, which is definitely not an exotic destination, but my experience there is worth sharing because the presenter, Dr. Gustavo Fares, a native of Argentina, made a Maine connection. Dr. Fares was showing us helpful internet sites when he highlighted "Grammar Book (Bowdoin) on line," but he had trouble pronouncing "Bowdoin," and no one seemed to understand his reference to the work of Dr. Enrique Yepes, a Spanish professor at Bowdoin, so I raised my hand and said that Bowdoin College was in Brunswick, Maine. In a lecture hall filled with language teachers, it seemed like I had just spoken a foreign language, but then a few teachers from Michigan nodded in recognition, and I sighed with relief. At that moment I felt oddly protective of all things made in Maine, including on line grammar books! Since Brunswick and Bath are next door neighbors, and both cities are home to fabulous Bed and Breakfasts, I believe everyone who loves to travel should know where both of these northern lights are located! Most foreign language teachers love to travel, and I am no exception. I left the workshop that afternoon and went straight home to pack for my next trip. Joe and I left for Paris that evening!

The Pont St. Louis in Paris

From Bath Time to Paris Time is a five hour flash forward in a "Back to the Future" kind of way. While Paris is five hours ahead of Bath, the historical landscape of Paris swiftly transports you to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance or the French Revolution. You can feel the influence of King Louis XV and Napoleon as well as the inspiration of Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Ernest Hemingway, too. Now I know why Monet, Renoir and Pablo Picasso preferred to paint in Paris! Seven days in Paris is like seven days in a magnificent time machine, and to echo the words of Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca: "We will always have Paris." The City of Light is simply enchanting with its Gothic palaces and towering cathedrals as well as spectacular museums like the Louvre, the Rodin and my absolute favorite, l'Orangerie, but for me the bridges are the most unforgettable part of Paris, especially the Pont Louis Philippe and the Pont St. Louis. From these two romantic bridges, which link the right bank to the little island and the big island in the Seine, you can see the spires of Notre Dame by day and the lights of the Eiffel Tower at night.  Of course, the views always seem more beautiful when you're holding hands! Rivers and bridges seem to bring us together as they take us from here to there! In my mind's eye, rivers connect Paris and Bath. The Seine and the Kennebec both offer breathtaking views on a starlit night. 

Omaha Beach, Normandy

The American cemetery, Normandy

During our stay in France, Joe and I left Paris only once to travel to the coast of Normandy. It was our sixth day in France, and the 29th Infantry Division had arranged a tour for us because Joe's dad was one of the lucky ones on D-day. When we arrived at Omaha Beach, I went to put on my L.L. Bean walking shoes and discovered that some Popham Beach sand had traveled with me. Seventy years after American, Canadian and British forces stormed the beaches, grains of sand from across the ocean were still coming to mix with the sand of Normandy. As we stood looking up at the the hills and the concrete bunkers that loomed above us, we could only imagine the terror of June 6, 1944. Later, we visited the American cemetery where we were met by more than 9,000 white crosses with a number of stars of David mixed among them. The marble crosses and stars stand tall in perfectly straight rows as they mark the graves of only 40% of the American servicemen who died fighting for freedom in France. Among the rows there are brothers resting side by side, like the Niland brothers of "Saving Private Ryan" fame. Private Jack Ryan is a fictional character, but Fritz Niland, a German-American from New York, was actually sent home from France after two of his brothers were killed on June 6th and 7th and a third brother was missing in action. While the loss of one son is unimaginable, the U.S. Army felt the loss of four sons would be unbearable. The visitors' center tells so many similar stories of sacrifice. As one scans the field of the American cemetery, the cost of freedom is crystal clear. The words competence, courage and sacrifice echo throughout the monument. Surely, a piece of America's heart is buried in Normandy.  In gratitude, the French government deeded the land for the American cemetery to the United States in perpetuity. It is a fitting tribute for so many young men of valor.

The Luxembourg Garden, St.- Germain, Paris

On our last evening in Paris, Joe and I ran along the Seine River and over the bridge to Ile St. Louis, and I wore my Seguin Island T-shirt from the mid-coast of Maine, and I thought about the light houses that have welcomed ships from across the sea to our shores of liberty for hundreds of years. I could only say a prayer, a prayer of thanks for the freedom we enjoy every day and for the young soldiers, airmen and sailors who fought so courageously to preserve it. Because of them, you can get there from here!