Modernization

Right about now, 48 hours prior to departure, I'm starting to feel a little like this guy looks~

I believe he is a tonnelier or barrel-maker, from some other clues that I cut out of the pic, though the tools at his feet look like farming tools so perhaps he is a vigneron. This photo was to be framed and brought with me, but I didn't bring it to the framer and so he will wait til the next trip. I did get the frame made for the Cardinal:

And thankfully I checked with American Airlines yesterday and learned that the total max dimensions for luggage has shrunk from 115" to 80." Nothing over 80" is allowed, because it has to go through the "new" scanning machines. This puts a real damper on my trans-continental hauling. The agent had no answer when I asked about Bikes and Surfboards, which represent the usual dimensions of my "luggage." I would have put the frame in a Bike Box if possible. Oh, and I have to pay $150 to bring this oversized piece on! So, today the framer will disassemble the frame and I will attempt to put the sticks into some kind of luggage to meet the standard size and avoid the extra charges. Our costs in the States continue to go up, there seem to be more and more rules all the time....arrrgh. Is this progress?

Even in France, things continue to change. There was a general strike across France this week to protest the proposal to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. R phoned this morning to tell me they are in the process of changing out all of the lanterns in town from my beloved amber yellow to a bright LED; presumably for energy effeciency. France has had its own Stimulus Spending and surely this is part of it. First order of business for me will be to find out where the former lanterns have gone and if I can buy any of them:
I also can't wait to catch up with the locals on the lanterns and other changes. Things have changed little in France over the decades, or at least much less so than in the States;
I share the resistance of the French to change from the traditional and time-worn. In Beaune there is a great respect, a nostalgia perhaps, for the old ways. Though they no longer wear sabots, here they are tasting the wine, drawing it from the wooden barrel using a glass pipette, just as they do today~
Mechanization has replaced some of the old ways, at least the horse-drawn cart~
but throughout Burgundy the grape harvest or vendage is still done entirely by hand~
Wish me luck with the frame; I hope to get one more post in before Friday.