Friday, July 5, 2013

"je suis un homme libre!"

You and Jenny head into Arles, the older, inner part of town, to see what's up.  Parking is a bitch.  You pull into a lot that is full, and happen across this, on the side of a building bordering one end of a petanque court: 


It is Patrick McGoohan's classic face and look from the '60s British TV show "The Prisoner,"  which chronicled the deprogramming/retirement/reprogramming of a Brit secret agent played by McGoohan.  There was nothing else like it on TV.

Parking accomplished, you start to wander and come across Georges.  You comment on his shirt, talk a bit in broken versions of English and French, and are on your way.  About 30 seconds later you kick yourself for not getting a pic of him, and tell Jenny that if you see him again you'll get one.  As fate would have it, you do see him again, and in addition to a pic you get a mini-tour of the town, including the old jail, where, right out front is the place where, centuries ago, court was set up.  The defendant sat on a stone bench just outside the jail, with the judges sitting in front of him on chairs.  The verdict would be pronounced and the guilty person would walk several steps to his left to the jail cell.  






The two pics above: the courtroom bench, and Jenny getting ready for some quality prison time.

Part of his tour included a stop in an uncrowded alley, where he proceeded to Euroroll a little something  for you, this time with some Moroccan product.  Which is to say: wherever you go; there you are.


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