On the road…again…!
Afghanistan to Zambia
Chronicles of a Footloose Forester
By Dick Pellek
France Revisited
Footloose Forester wrote briefly in his Chronicles of a Footloose Forester about the Comoros Islands, Cambodia and France; but also about how the people and events in those three countries were blended into sagas that were; and continue to be exraordinarily personal.
People and their sagas were rejoined at a dinner table recently, in a suburb outside of Paris. The hostess was Trinh, who was previously discussed in chronicles about Cambodia and France; and one of the guests was Marie-Elise, her neighbor from across the street. Marie-Elise is also the widow of the late Bob Denard, who was mentioned in the chronicle about the Comoros. Trinh and Marie-Elise became best friends after Bob’s death.
All three ladies were born in Cambodia. Trinh is the one on the right, with Luc, son of Sothi on the left
We did not discuss Bob Denard at the dinner table; or his career as a mercenary coup master; although Trinh probably mentioned to Marie-Elise that both Bob and her were mentioned in the Chronicles of the Footloose Forester. That thought was more than presumption --Trinh had ordered the book in which all of them were mentioned.
As he sat at the laptop computer, compiling the elements of this latest chronicle, the Footloose Forester notes that he and his wife Thu are again the guests of Philippe and Sothi, who hosted that sad dinner years ago during which all of the females at the table were born in Cambodia; and all had lost loved ones to war during the Kymer Rouge reign of terror.