Ingrams June 2023

BETWEEN THE LINES

before parking. I was thrilled to sur vive the week without scraping the car against the many walls begging me to scrape them. Walking back one night from the “nearby” garage—about a quarter mile—I had to ask myself: what hap pens when you can no longer walk five miles a day? For all its virtues, France is no country for old men, let alone old women. I could not envision living there. My wife took the train into Paris a day before me, and I was free to roam the countryside. This you can only do by car. I set my sights on Verdun, turned off the GPS, and headed out on a series of back roads. On the loneli est of these roads, I passed a cemetery, backed up, and pulled in. Unsure whether it was open, I maneuvered past the gate and wandered in awe between the crosses, row on row. I thought I was the only one there until I heard a voice call out behind me.

Given the French penchant for rules, I presumed I was about to be yelled at. I wasn’t. Instead, an angelic young Francaise offered me a personal tour.

about retiring to France. Upon finding my wife’s hotel unscathed, I literally thanked God for my deliver ance and asked forgiveness for wishing death on three separate motorcyclists. If nothing else, the drive into Paris eased my return home. KC, I remem bered upon arriving, is to drivers what Nancy is to walkers, a potential UNES- CO World Heritage Site for caraholics. With its seamless sprawl, splendid boulevards, and ample freeways—more miles of them per capita than any city anywhere—Kansas City minimizes the stress in our lives and encourages niceness. It is no wonder my textbook recognized the city’s essential virtue. Now if only our planners would do the same.

Kansas City is to drivers what the French city of Nancy is to walkers— a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site for caraholics.

In heaven, the 4,000 young Americans buried at St. Mihiel surely envied me. The nightmare drive into the heart of Paris later that day erased any lin gering thought I might have entertained

The views expressed in this column, which is also published online in the Heartlander, are the writer’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Ingram’s Magazine. Jack Cashill , Senior Editor, Editorial @ Ingrams.com

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June 2023

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