Tag Archives: barcelona

Delusional Deja Vu – Le Abbee of Saint Michel de Cuxa

In 1988 I spent the summer in Perpignan, France. My good friend, Olivier Brial, arranged my stay with his cousin, Jacques Vial. The family house on the Quai Nicolas Sidi Carnot was in the center of the old Catalan city. The River Basse coursed past the fourth-story mansion east to the sea in Olivier’s parents […]

Thai Cat Scratch Fever

Several villages in Thailand’s Ang Thong province have reported a plague striking household cats dead. The cats basically starved to death and locals are now scared that this ‘cat fever’ or ‘kai-wat me-ow’ could spread to the human population. Medical authorities have found no threat, but cannot explain the fatal phenomena affecting over three hundred […]

Pig Scare

In the summer of 1989 I visited Barcelona to see a female friend. Floe was a model from Sarasota, Florida. Her apartment overlooked the Ramblas. We were attracted to each other, however she was faithful to her absent boyfriend. We slept in the same bed without touching. It was a very frustrating experience. One afternoon […]

July 31, 1988 – Perpignan

Last night Jacques Vial, my patron in Perpignan and cousin to Olivier Brial (Cousins could be anyone from the same town or village in Catalunya), had invited some forty people to a forest dinner. At a long white-clothed table his beau-frere, his wife, Jean-Louis, his employer, Francois, a compatriot, a sad carpenter, a skilled woodsman, […]