The Missing Presidential Candidate
The township of Chateauneuf-du-Pape was gripped by excitement on the day of our visit.
Word was about that a front-running candidate in the French Presidential elections – a fellow who went by the name Nicolas Sarkozy – was due to pay the local populace a visit.
All the quaint townsfolk spilled from their picturesque dwellings and lined the cobbled streets, awaiting the arrival of the stately man. The mayor of the city – his chest ballooning with conspicuous pride – stood on a street-corner facing the direction from which Sarkozy was to come, with a range of local doyens and dignitaries, lined up behind him. An enormous medallion hung from a chain around his corpulent neck. The Mayor had been standing there for so long that the fixed smile on this face was beginning to take its toll. The poor old fellow was fading fast.
Given the prevailing merriment, we paused for a little while and waited for the Presidential candidate to triumphantly enter the village, followed by trumpeters, dancing girls and, perhaps, a troupe of wandering minstrels.
Unfortunately, however, Sarkozy was a no-show!
By the time we joined the joyous throng, the candidate was already late. After a polite period, we decided to move on, rather than wait any longer. Nothing to see here!
We’re not sure whether the great man ever arrived. For the sake of the self-satisfied Mayor of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we hope he did.
In any event, we wish Sarkozy well in his campaign. And we were that close to seeing him!
Moonriver
WAITING AROUND THE BEND 