My year in Bdx--Susan (Blanc) Grayson

Yes, thank you Anna Kay and subsequent bloggers for bringing the Bordeaux experience back to life. It's more exciting than I would have imagined to see and hear about people I actually think about, believe it or not. I've already spent a few hours on this blog and, like Anna Kay, really need to get back to my work.

Since that year in France I've seen Paula Feldman Goodman (in grad school and as a friend) and Amy and Phil. In 1969 or 1970 I saw Julie Dunn (who doesn't resemble the photo posted on the link) and Nena Nocita. Ann Curl Joubert and Jay Golden were in grad school at UCLA.

It looks as if some of you had more fun in Bordeaux than I remember having....

Here's my post-Bordeaux story. In 1969 I married Richard (Grayson), a professor of music at Occidental College. We live in Santa Monica and are still happily and joyously married, but he retired in 2000 and is teaching music theory part time. I got my Ph.D. in French (18e s.) and, faced with a horrible job market in 1978, earned a second Ph.D. (and a license) in social/clinical psychology. I have a tiny private practice but it's not my main career. For the last 30 years I've been a professor of French at Occidental. Occidental, by the way, is the home of the world's most famous transfer student, Barack Obama, whose name I remember from 1979-81 before he left for Columbia U.. Couldn't believe it was the same person as the student activist.

When I took Richard to Bordeaux and showed him where I had lived (50, rue Forestier), he was aghast! The street was so depressing and isolated. Though we've been to France several times since we've not returned to Bdx.

It is so sad to hear about John, whom we called Jean Pierre. He and Candi and I went to Switzerland in Feb. or March (hi, Candi and Robert!). I've often thought about him, Florentia (hi, Florentia!), Beverly O. and Sylvia Freed, Virginia (Ginger), Aleen Grabow, Helene Neu and others. It would be lovely to get in touch, however briefly, though our lives have diverged greatly.

Back to work (re-reading __La Chanson de Roland__ for a class tomorrow).

Bonnes bises,

Susan