Today might be one of the saddest days of my life. Right up there with the last episode of Law and Order and the time my pony died and my dad came home and said, “Yeah, the old girl is headed to the glue factory!” Here’s what happened:
Despite drinking a margarita the size of my head last night, I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to seize the day. But not just any day. Lobster and duck fat french fries day! So after rushing through the market and doing a load of laundry, I hopped on my bike and headed to Spring.
I thought biking was a good idea, since I was about to eat my weight in crustacean sandwich and the most deliciously fatty potatoes one could imagine. Turned out it was not such a good idea, mostly because the weather in Paris is awful. About 10 minutes in to my ride, a cold gust of wind blew through and it started raining.
No worries! I was almost there. I would warm myself with the greasy heat of frites. This thought alone buoyed my spirits through the cold damp (August!) air, until I cruised up to see this:
CLOSED!? Closed. No lobster rolls. No duck fat french fries. No logical explanation. It was all I could do not to sit down on the sidewalk and cry.
Somehow I pulled myself together and pedaled home, stomach growling. And this being August/Apocalypse Month, absolutely nothing else seemed to be open. Sad and dejected, I finally found a boulangerie that just happened to be serving fresh beignets. So with heavy heart I kissed my duck fat dreams goodbye and settled for one of these sugar coated little guys.
Which promptly squirted red jelly down the front of my shirt. Are the gods telling me to go on a diet?
* * *
Today’s (yesterday’s) word is: fermé
Pronunciation: fair-may
Definition: Closed. Not open. Doors locked. No one home. As in,
“My soul was completely crushed when I discovered that the mystical purveyor of lobster rolls and duck fat fries was inexplicably fermé.”
Unlikely Diplomat 
I am so sorry about the ferme situation at Spring. So cruel to entice you like that and then be ferme’ )(*&+)(* I am enjoying your blog so much! Especially your dry humor.
Thanks for stopping by the blog Ruth! Those lobster rolls will be mine…someday!
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