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Titre: An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: patard le 13 Mar 2008 15:53
 :)The story began in a little village more than sixty years ago , a little village not far from Etampes in the south of Paris.
At this time Peter was three years old . He did'nt yet went to school. He spent the biggest  part of his time alone or sometimes with other little boys or girls of his age running on field or wood around his house .
His  mother agreed.
When he was at home his mother worked , there were no washing machine , no disches machine , no television , just a table, few chairs and a stove working during the day with coal , and out of work at night.
So his mother was very rarely sat , except for meals.
But sometimes , generaly when his father was away ; she sat down for a few minutes. He used , and he loved, then to climb on his mother  knees. And his mother  told him a story . It was always the same story , the story of a young little girl with a red coat , the little girl was lost in a wood , and a big and dangerous sort of dog ate the little girl. He did'nt like the story. He liked to be on his mother knees , he liked to listen his mother . But at the end of the story he was very sad , and his mother told him . Don't cry this is just a story , and you are tall now . You are three , no longer a baby , a boy ,not a girl, so you are not allowed to cry.
But one day as by accident his mother told him an other story.A very different story.
The story was a real story. The story began before his birth .It was the war is mother told him, the german soldiers took every things, we had just very old clothes, it was very hard to find tyres for our bikes,and in addition to, I was waiting for you , and I had not enough food .
The day you came , your birth day ; I was in your grand father house in Le Plessis Robinson . A bomb fell very near
of the house and a part of this bomb hit the roof at the opposite side of the house.
It was the five of june 1944 , a very hard day .
She spoke  not the same way as usual for the little girl with a red coat. Her voice was slow,more personnal.
I was happy, you were a boy , all the familly was happy, your grandparents , your aunts .

A few month after your birth, his mother said. The americans soldiers arrived in Paris and passed « au petit Clamart ».
It was about 500m from your grandfather house. I went to see the american army; with my sisters, your aunts and you in my arms.
An american soldier stopped , I was so happy that I gave you to him , He hold you in his arm . Then he give me a little tablet of chocolate and kiss me on the cheek.
You can't understand how happy we were all of us . It was my first chocolate for five years, I , we, all of us  thought at that time that it was the end of the war , it was freedom for me , for you , you my son, for everybody. It was enough food for everybody, It was the end of a nightmare, maybe it was a little bit a dream
.  Peter listened carefully . Every thing was so diffrent from the story of the little girl with a red coat. His mother wipe his eyes , smile , she looked odd . Very happy , but a little odd.
It was the end of the story. It was time to leave his mother knee to run outdoor
.By  now the story was in his small young  mind.
Sometimes  , not very often , may be five or six time , not more , because he had a sister soon , and a brother a little later. . And he was tall now. But a few time always when his father was away he sat on his mother knees .  And each time he asked her mother to tell him the american soldier storie. A better storie than the storie of the little girl with a red coat.
Peter grew up. Of course he no longer spoke with his mother of the american soldier , but the storie came from time to time in his mind, when he red "plan marshall ' for instance , when Kennedy was murdered,
His father died 
he married and has his own life.
One day, he was 27 years old and with his wife, was travelling in the south of USA.  He met an old fat ugly man . Are you french said the man?
Yes I am. The old man smiled, may be a little to much . I went to France  for the war, the old man said . Peter thaught at the american soldier story  of his mother. Peter smiled to the old man.  the   old man smiled , smiled more.
Ah Paris , French girls; Pigalle. It was an other side of the war. Best souvenirs of the end of the war for a young serious french mother , and best souvenirs of the end of the same war for a soldier were a bit different. Chocolate and freedom for one , prostitutes for the other,
when he was 45 years old , his mother had a cancer,One day a neighbour 's mother call him on the phone. If you want to see your mother alive , you must come very fast.
So at night he got into his car, slept an hour in the car and arrived in the  morning in his mother house.
As he arrived his mother told him: we see both for the last time.
She hoped he say of course no, you 'll be soon in good health.  But he kept quiet . It was too late now to cheat or to lie.
They loved together , but never in lalaland, it was a true , hard love , not formal , true. A few years before he had a girlfrend ,and one day his mother told him . How ugly she is , hoa ugly she is. I would'nt have her as a daughter in law.
He kept quiet , smile a little , and thought both it not your business I will do what I like , you are my mother , I love you has you are .
So things were perfectly clear .They were together for the last time for twelve , or fourteen hours, not more. They will never see again .
She wanted to talk him to make to him for a last time the movie of her life.
When she was a child in a poor family with four others sisters and brother , a bedroom she shared with two sister , no table to make her homeworks , she sat in the stairs to learn her lessons or to write her homeworks on her knees. But she wanted very much to become a teacher.
She succed . She met the peter's father , he loved her very much, she likes that he loved her , she was 22 years old . It was time to get married.  And one year later it was the birth of peter. The bomb on the roof and.......
A few months later the american soldier ; peter in his arm , the little piece of chocolate ; the end of the nightmare ...
that had happen  fourty five years ago , A few minutes probably , but the émotion was there again . Again she was a little odd........
It was nine pm Peter had to drive for the nignt  and sleep just an hour in the car. He left her.

One week later , the game was over ,she was dead. He did'nt get into his car , he did'nt went to the funeral "party". It was of no use to see all the family. he was the only one to  know his mother american   soldier story. A story which will be in his mind for the end of his life . 
He  loved his mother  the same way she loved him, not a formal ,a conventional way.
With the american soldier storie in his mind he was sure too, to love america for his life ,The america of freedom , of democratie, But as far as love is concern things are sometimes hard.
Titre: Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: John Doe le 13 Mar 2008 16:14
That reminds me "少年たちのいた夏 〜Melody of Jenny〜"...

Nice story!  :)
Titre: Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: patard le 13 Mar 2008 16:43
I don't know Melody of Jenny. Nice story ? May be?  True story , I know.
I really would put it in good english.
See "textes libres en anglais"
Titre: Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: John Doe le 13 Mar 2008 17:15
It was nice to read you. Thx  ;)
Titre: Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: patard le 14 Mar 2008 08:19
Hello john and everybody
What we could do is to take the first sentence

The story began in a little village more than sixty years ago , a little village not far from Etampes in the south of Paris.

or a little more for instance

The story began in a little village more than sixty years ago , a little village not far from Etampes in the south of Paris.
At this time Peter was three years old . He did'nt yet went to school. He spent the biggest  part of his time alone or sometimes with other little boys or girls of his age running on field or wood around his house

We could talk John ,Nicolas , Mamour, Flo , Kate , Bettina ........Everybody.
Is it clear ? Is possible to understand what I want to say .
Is the grammar good or not.
for instance I am wondering if a the beggining
"The story began "is correct , or if " the story begin " would be better
Then I repeat "a little village " I think it is a mistake, I could have write :
The story begin (or began ) in a little village more than sixty years ago not far from Etampes in the south of Paris.

Of course it is just a way to work to help to improve our english.
John , Nicolas,mamour, flo, Kate , Bettina could put on the forum there own text . And I am ready  to work on there text to put it in better english, and then to improve my own english and the english of all of us.
Thomas could get in the discussion at the end of each sentence to help

Really best regards to everybody
Titre: Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: mamour le 14 Mar 2008 08:46
Nice story!!!that remember me the stories that my"grand mother"in my work narrate me!!!
Titre: Re : Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: John Doe le 14 Mar 2008 10:45
Citation de: patard le 14 Mar 2008 08:19
Hello john and everybody
What we could do is to take the first sentence

The story began in a little village more than sixty years ago , a little village not far from Etampes in the south of Paris.

or a little more for instance

The story began in a little village more than sixty years ago , a little village not far from Etampes in the south of Paris.
At this time Peter was three years old . He did'nt yet went to school. He spent the biggest  part of his time alone or sometimes with other little boys or girls of his age running on field or wood around his house

We could talk John ,Nicolas , Mamour, Flo , Kate , Bettina ........Everybody.
Is it clear ? Is possible to understand what I want to say .
Is the grammar good or not.
for instance I am wondering if a the beggining
"The story began "is correct , or if " the story begin " would be better
Then I repeat "a little village " I think it is a mistake, I could have write :
The story begin (or began ) in a little village more than sixty years ago not far from Etampes in the south of Paris.

Of course it is just a way to work to help to improve our english.
John , Nicolas,mamour, flo, Kate , Bettina could put on the forum there own text . And I am ready  to work on there text to put it in better english, and then to improve my own english and the english of all of us.
Thomas could get in the discussion at the end of each sentence to help

Really best regards to everybody

I am not rather good to correct you. Sorry. :(

But I think that I understood what you wanted to write. ;)
Titre: Re : Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: patard le 14 Mar 2008 14:29
Citation de: mamour le 14 Mar 2008 08:46
Nice story!!!that remember me the stories that my"grand mother"in my work narrate me!!!
Good
Really a lot of thanks for your reply
First I would say two or three things.
I spoke in " textes libres en anglais" of  the way I learnt to write in French at school. But I forgot something very important.
When we were in class it was absolutly forbidden to say to another boy that he was an idiot ; or something like that. You were sure to have an extra homework to do in addition of big eyes from the teacher.
So I don't feel gulty when I write in wrong way. Unfortunatly I don't take care not to hurt an other personn , when I think there is a grammatical problem.
I remenbered this morning of my girlfriend when I was nineteen. She was sixteen and was german .I didn't know a world of german, and she spoke french. So we spoke together in french. But her grammar was not always conventionnal.
So each time her grammar was not conventionnal I repeated the sentence in conventionnal manner.
After a week she told me I love what you do , I improve my french. At this time I understood that till this time each time I repeated her sentence she was a bit nervous ,she felt a bit guilty.
Of course it was nonsense I repeated only because I loved her.
So I think that in this forum we can explain what we feel not conventionnal in a sentence write by an other, without making someone guilty or hurt.
I think mamour that you could write your own stories coming from your " grand mother"
we could talk about these stories , compare with my story and you , me, and the other improve our english.
Anyway there are something I don't understand. But do you write "grand mother " with brakets (").What do you mean by at work.
Then thanks for narrate .I did not know this word in english.
I think it is a past so  narrated would be more conventionnal. And if it was something usual you could have write : "she used to tell" What do you think about?
Thanks I think that you help me to improve my englih.

Thanks john for your reply
I am not rather good to correct you. Sorry.
but when you don't understand a word or a part of a sentence you can ask .
And asking explanations you help everybody to improve his english.
For me I prefer not to hear all the teachers of english cry when they read my trash english. It would the best way to keep a trash english for ever.
Titre: Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: mamour le 14 Mar 2008 21:54
I wrote grand mother with brakets because she's not my grand mother but in my heart she is!!!I didn't have grand mother and I love her as such!!she's wonderful and she has a plenty stories during the war!! sush as when he lived in Paris and she was twenty years old when she gave birth under bombings!!!she is a history book!!
Titre: Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: patard le 16 Mar 2008 00:17
If she is your grand mother in your heart , then she is your  grand mother.
One of my friends died a few years ago. One of his son was in Israel. He was an israelien citizen , and he was in the secret service of israel . He  asked to come in France for the funeral of his father . He was not allowed to come in France , because his country needed him.
But he  came in France for the funeral of his father . I can't come back to israel, or he would be threw in jail.
He loved his father very much.
But his father was not his genetic father , and he knew that his father was not his genetic father.
Anyway I belive that I understand what you feel when you say I didn't have grand mother .
My father beated me sevral time a week . He stopped when I was fifteen and told him :" if you beat me , I beat you "
Neighbourers new he beats me  but said nothing.
For a long time I asked me if things would have been better if I had been taken from my own family ,and put in an other family and no longer beat , I think , things would have been worst .
Titre: Re : An american soldier (free text)
Posté par: Flo le 23 Mar 2008 18:18
I cannot write as well as you in English and I was moved  (émue?) by the story of the American soldier and all the personnal information from some of the forum members.  I was born the day of the "armistice" in Lyon, the house of my parents was occupated by german officiers in Metz. I like to speak to the young that my generation in France had luck not to know the war in the French country; of course, I don't speak about the Algerian war and other wars were French were engaged.
I am very sad when I think that  my generation of people as Palestinien and Israelian, who are brother people had known only the war. The young are really sacrified and cannot understand what is peace. I dream of an universal goverment. When in Fance I have to vote for the Europe, I think, it's bad because it is a partition between the other countries but I was optimist and I think also that it was a foot to have a great mondial organisation...And thanks for the progresses that help  friendship between peoples, travels, culture and sciences Internet.
It is difficult to write in English... I am a grand mother, I like also to explain to the children the live of the  past. I spent my holidays by an aunt in a village where we had to fetch the water in a public  fountain.
In my spare time, I go once a week in a school  during the time of lunch and read stories to children or speak above  various  topics. Bye