I Danced on Stage at a Paris Nightclub

 Fourth Monday after Pentecost 

Lectionary Texts:

Monday:

1 Samuel 17:12-37

2 Corinthians 6:1-2

Psalm 9:9-20 (UMH 744)

Tuesday:

I Samuel 17:38-58

2 Corinthians 2:3-13

Yes, it's true. I did dance on stage at a Paris nightclub. But first some back story. I went to Paris for the first time in 1968, when I was 23. Many memories, but the one that most stands out from that first trip was going to the famous Paris Night Club, The Moulin Rouge.

 

I should note first that this is Monday Travelogue Day. 

 

I was with a tour group. I was assigned a table at The Moulin Rouge with three Seventh-Day Adventist women. The shop began with topless showgirls dancing in cages that ran around the ceilings. I could hear a collective gasp from my table mates. I think some of them never exhaled the whole two hour show. I tried to explain to them later that this was all very tasteful and artistic. They didn't buy it.

Three trips later, in 1991, we went to another Paris nightclub, La Nouvelle Eve (The New Eve). It was a smaller show with more audience interaction. At one point the Mistress of Ceremonies (the only female in the cast who was not topless) came into the audience seeking a couple of men to join her on the stage for a dance contest. She wanted my friend and table mate Larry, who steadfastly refused to go. While he was turning her down, I was saying "Take me, Take me, Prenez-moi." She did. The other contestant was Rupert from England. I danced my heart out. I thought I was better, but Rupert was younger and had a vocal crowd of supporters. When she called for applause for the contestants, Rupert won. 

Since then on other trips I have been to the Moulin Rouge twice and the Lido once. On one of the trips we got a table right on the corner between the stage and the runway at the Moulin Rouge. At one point in the show there was a horse ridden by a cowboy. The horse jumped right over Marianne's head. 

 

Now for a bit more on the serious side. Of  the six times I have been to Paris, my last trip, 2017 was by far the best. We, our son and daughter-in-law, and our two grandchildren stayed on a houseboat on the right bank of the Seine, right in the middle of the city for two full weeks. The Eiffel Tower was on our right on the other side of the river, beautifully lit up. The Musee d'Orsay (the great impressionist museum) was just across the River. The Louvre was on our side of the river, about a half mile to our left. We had a birthdday dinner for Marianne at at Restaurant of the Grand Palais, a short walk from our housebout. The weather perfect, we ate outside on a terrace a few feet higher than the street. The food was superb; the service, impeccable. 

 

Two weeks gave us a chance to experience something of the life of the city. Our boat had a kitchen below and a dining room table with six chairs on deck. We would buy at the local stores and shops and cook. Then we would sit on the deck eating our dinner and happily waving to the tourist boats that went by. They must have thought we were the luckiest family in the world. We were.

One more week on Paris, then to an end of the world place, Cape Sounion.

God,

I am grateful that you put the travel bug in me and have led to so many extraordinary places. May all our travels bring us greatr knowldege and understanding, as well as a lot of fun. Amen.

Faithfully,

Christian