It started as a trip to encircle the things we loved in Paris by train . . Étoile/DeGaulle station, Trocadero, Bir Hakeim, Dupleix and Grenelle. We exited at the Grenelle Station, ate at McDonalds, and took the train to the Cluny, the famous museum of the middle-ages. I bought some books at the sidewalk book stores ($1.20 for five books) and walked through St-Germain des Prés, the Louvre courtyard, the Jardin de Tuileries, and the Place de la Concorde before taking the train to Villiers in the 17th arrondissement. Just a touch to remember them by.
On the way back, on the train, I noticed a young woman about 20. Brown hair and eyes, bright red lipstick with a blue, lightweight, see-through shawl. Very prim looking. She had her book open to one page with her finger pointing to a place on the page. However, she was actively studying everyone on the train. She would look up for a few seconds and then down, then up. I suspected she might be friends with the mother and three boys who were adjacent to her. But then she moved on to the next person. . . perhaps an aspiring writer.
A thirty something Frenchman was directly caddy-corner. Hip and slick. Black boots, dark glasses, curly brown hair with an earphone plugged into his phone. His shirt was tailored and left open half-way down. He had an air of French, young and cool.
All the others were lost in things they had to do, regrets for things they had (or hadn’t) done, boredom with their lot in life, or looking forward to that one thing that was going to change their life forever.
When I was managing at HP I set up a series of social behavior tests based on the Subarctic Survival Situation. I ran this test and tabulated the results with my staffs over the years and discovered that the groups which collaborated openly with each other and made consensus decisions performed two and half times better than the best individual result. This said something to me about management which I employed for the remainder of my career.
As I walked through the Jardin de Tuileries I realized that, although Paris had achieved its pinnacle in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s (Monet, Van Gogh, Hemingway, Dali, Picasso, etc.), its greatest achievement might still be in front of it.
Because of its history, Paris attracts people from all races and all countries and gives them the opportunity to mix, share, and return to their countries of origin with newfound knowledge and understanding of other cultures and peoples.
It is a different gift, but a valuable one.