Parc Floral Visit; 70s Music Special

The kids woke up earlier from their naps than usual and it was a warm and sunny day outside, so we decided to visit the Parc Floral (Floral Park) later this afternoon. It's located very close to the Chateau of Vincennes just east of Paris. It's a beautiful park with lots of flowers and a fabulous playland of assorted slides and swings for kids. After we took the train ride around the park, we walked to the play area, stopping to get ice cream on the way. (When I was our son's age, I used to walk with my father every Sunday afternoon to a local store in Detroit to get an ice cream).

We had a scare at the play area. There was one elevated area that had about 10 different slides going in all directions. Our 4 year old son was having a blast going up and down some pretty tall and fast slides there. Our 2 1/2 year old daughter wanted to go up, so my wife took her up, while I stayed at the bottom with our 2 month old daughter. In the midst of all the masses of kids and slides going in different directions, we lost sight of our son. He apparently took a slide that went down somewhere that we couldn't see.

When we realized that he wasn't with with me or with my wife, we were panicked to say the least. After I made several full trips completely around this slide area and didn't see him, I could imagine only the worst. My wife and I then planned to go in different directions for 15 minutes and look for him, then return to the same spot to get news. (Next time we go there, we'll bring walkie talkies, as keeping track of 3 kids is a challenge).

Fortunately, I found him sitting on a swing after looking for around 2-3 minutes. When we were in the U.S. in 2004, he loved going on swings, which are not typically found in French parks. He didn't at all look afraid, but appeared happy to be on a swing, especially when I started pushing him.

Anyway, I know can empathize more with Mary and Joseph when they realized that their 12 year old son Jesus wasn't with them on their way back from Jerusalem to Nazareth.

I often take my kids' good health and safety for granted, although I do try to keep my eye on them. From a human perspective, the Parc Floral is a relatively safe place, since it is completely enclosed and you have to pay to get in. The play area is at the back of the park, which also adds to its safety. Our son is fairly strong physically and would probably kick and scream if a stranger tried to forcefully take him. However, this is a time of child predators, so we need to be careful and discerning.

*****************************************

Tonight on TF1, the primary TV channel in France, there was a special dedicated to the Swedish grop ABBA and other music groups from the 1970s. It was like going back to a high school reunion for me, as a number of my "old friends" (i.e., songs I grew up with) were featured. These included imitation performances of many old ABBA songs (like "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo," as well other groups' songs like "Rock the Boat" by the Hughes Corporation, "Kung Fu Fighting" by Karl Douglas, and "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire. These groups must have laughed when telling that they had been invited to France to participate in a 1970s' music TV special.

It was fun hearing some of these songs again. They are a lot lighter than a lot of the songs out today. If Becca's mom MaryAnne had been here for this special, we would have cracked up reminiscing about some of the songs. They were fun, but pretty fluffy in some (or many) ways, which is also typical of lots of disco music.

I wonder which songs of today will be sung 30 years later on some 2000 music special?