Little Gifts, Long Walks, and a Handbag for Fruitloop

It was very warm here.

But not warm like it should be.

Only 34 degrees.

Fruitloop was in South Africa with 16 degrees, and The Mayor was sitting here in the heat dome, sweating. I told her I would send her a postcard when I go back to France in September. That seemed fair to me. She goes to South Africa, and we stay here in the heat.

Then we had the language problem.

Fruitloop speaks Afrikaans. I speak French. The Mayor speaks many things, but sometimes I think he also does not understand himself. So this was going to be a good conversation. She speaks Afrikaans, I speak dialect, and somehow we must all understand each other in English.

Afrikaans, I said, is a little bit Dutch.

The Mayor said it is not a language. It is a baby language.

I think this was dangerous, because Fruitloop was there. But we continued.

For me, when someone speaks Afrikaans, I do not understand. When Fruitloop speaks English, I also do not understand. When I speak French, sometimes I do not understand me. So we were in a good situation. Nobody understood everything, but everybody laughed.

Fruitloop asked why I was tired.

I had worked from six in the morning until three in the afternoon. At work, I walk. I drive my car, I walk, I go home, I take a shower, I come to the meeting, and after the meeting I go home and make a little sport in the room. Push-ups, a little training. Not outside, because it is too hot.

She asked asked what gives me energy.

I said I do not have the choice. I am walking. With energy or without energy, I walk. It is better to walk with energy, but if there is no energy, I still walk.

That is maybe not a philosophy, but it works.

I also knew that on Saturday I had renewed my energy. There was a birthday, many people, a swimming pool, party, and after that, on Sunday, my wife and I did the wine walk here in Cleebourg.

Fruitloop did not know what a wine walk is, so I had to explain.

In many villages in the region, in summer, we make a little walk of 10 to 15 kilometres. Here it is a wine village, so the theme is white wine. You walk maybe 12 kilometres, and every two or three kilometres there is a stand. The first stand is the aperitif. The second is the starter. The third is the main course. Then cheese. Then coffee. With or without schnaps.

For Fruitloop, of course, with schnaps.

She was very interested in the wine.

The Mayor said this was interesting. Fruitloop only wanted to know if she could drink wine at every table. I said yes. At every table. Different grapes, different wine.

The Mayor said she could drink and I could eat.

That was also fair.

The food is not too big, because if you eat too much, you have a problem walking after. There is maybe a pretzel, then pâté, then bouchée à la reine, with chicken and white wine sauce in puff pastry. After that, a few small pieces of cheese, and then coffee and schnaps.

When Fruitloop comes to France, I will give her schnaps.

This is a deal.

Then we talked about music.

The Mayor mentioned the music from the village, and I had to correct him. No, no, no. For me, this music is torture music. It is not AC/DC. AC/DC is nice music. This is something else. The Mayor called it oompapa music.

It is very good for torture.

He said if you have holes in your teeth, the music fills them automatically.

I had closed the window when it played. I heard enough.

Then we spoke about Fête de la Musique. I explained to Fruitloop that it started in France in 1982 or 1983, from the culture minister, and it is on the longest day of the year, 21 June. The purpose is to celebrate music and the longest day.

The Mayor said that for us now, after the longest day, we are going downhill to Christmas. For Fruitloop, in South Africa, they are going uphill to Christmas.

I had to think about this.

Yes, because our days become shorter, and hers become longer.

Then I explained another tradition near here. In winter, around February, in a village maybe 20 kilometres from here, there is an old heathen festival. They hunt the bad spirits. They make wooden discs, put them on a long stick, make them burn in the forest, and then hit the stick over a big stone so the burning disc flies into the valley.

This is for chasing bad spirits.

And drinking beer.

That part is important.

Also mulled wine. But mulled wine is only good when it is cold. Under zero, it is very fine. Over zero, no. For me, cold begins at minus five. Maybe at minus five I start thinking about gloves. Maybe not.

The Mayor said in South Africa 15 degrees is freezing cold.

They are different down there. They speak Afrikaans and freeze when it is still spring.

Then somehow we arrived at Christmas markets in Strasbourg. The Mayor had taken Fruitloop there on his phone last year. He walked through the Christmas market for her. He said he sacrificed himself because there were too many people. Then Fruitloop saw a handbag shop.

This became important.

There was a small handbag. Tiny. The Mayor zoomed into the price tag. He asked me how much I thought it cost.

I said maybe 150 or 200.

No.

It was 600 euros.

Fruitloop said she would never buy it. She said it is nice to look at, but she would not buy it.

Of course, The Mayor said, she would not say no if someone gave it to her.

That is when the handbag became dangerous.

I said maybe The Mayor could buy it next year.

He said no, no, no. Fruitloop is married. There might be a problem with her husband.

I said it is just a friendly gift.

The Mayor said he might have a problem with her husband. I said not if he runs faster than a lion and swims faster than the shark.

This was good motivation.

Then the conversation came back to healthy habits.

Fruitloop asked which healthy habit is easiest for me to keep, and which is hardest.

I said drinking beer and going to the shooting club is easy.

But not too much beer. One after the other. Not all at the same time.

The harder thing is maybe friendship and loyalty. I am not just stubborn. I am also sometimes impulsive. When I have a friendship, I give 100 percent. Friendship and loyalty are one package for me. If someone is a real friend, I give everything.

But if someone takes me for a ride, this is a big problem.

The Mayor understood very quickly. He said maybe it is better for this person’s teeth that I do not see him too often.

That is true.

This person lives in Cleebourg. I see him sometimes at the shooting club. It is not a problem for me. It is maybe a problem for him.

Then The Mayor asked how the shooting club is a healthy habit.

For me, shooting has been part of my life since I was 14. I am 59 now, so that is 45 years. I grew up with weapons at my grandparents’ home. It was normal. It was not a problem. Today my weapons are in a big cupboard, closed and safe. I take them to the shooting club and then I bring them home.

I did competitions for many years. I stopped competition three months ago. Now I go shooting a little less, for my personal pleasure and personal training.

After a competition, I am tired because it needs concentration. There are 60 cartridges. Thirty in precision, thirty in speed shooting. After that, yes, I am a little tired.

But I am happy.

It is like finishing a bicycle ride. You feel the accomplishment. I did it.

After a competition, I put my weapon in the case, close the case with locks, put the case in the car, close the car, and then I drink a beer.

After. Never before.

Maybe one or two beers, but not more if I must drive home. If my wife drives home, then after everything is safe, maybe three, four, five beers. But not before.

Safety first. Beer after.

Then Fruitloop asked if there was something I thought would give me energy but actually made me tired.

The Mayor used himself and Fruitloop as an example. Maybe I think talking with them gives me energy, and afterwards I am totally exhausted.

I said yes, it gives energy.

Sitting here, speaking English, laughing, thinking, trying to understand Fruitloop and The Mayor, it gives me energy. But yes, afterwards I am tired.

That is normal.

English is energy, but it is also brain work.

Then I talked about the 100 kilometre walk.

At the beginning, my energy was 100 percent and tired was zero. During the march, energy went down and tired went up. At the end, after 100 kilometres, energy was zero and tired was 100.

The Mayor said this was not a normal situation.

No. Not normal.

Not yet.

I had a problem with my feet. My energy was okay, but my feet were the problem. If not for my feet, I think I could maybe have done 10 or 20 kilometres more. I am not sure, but maybe.

Now I want to continue training. Next week I want to buy trail shoes. Tomorrow I go swimming. Last week I began swimming again. Next week, normally Wednesday, I will go from my work car to home with my bicycle.

Fruitloop did not know what that means.

It means 47 or 48 kilometres.

On Tuesday I bring my bicycle to work. Wednesday morning, my wife brings me to work at 4:45 in the morning because she also starts at six. Then after work, I cycle home.

The Mayor was impressed by my wife.

He said, “That’s love.”

Yes. True love.

My wife is calm. I am stubborn. It works.

I have not trained on the bicycle in the last three months. Zero. But I think with my mountain bike I can make it in two or two and a half hours. From Karlsruhe to Wissembourg it is quite flat. After that, a little bit up. For safety, I tell my wife to keep her mobile with her. If I have a problem, I call and she picks me up.

Normally, I think I can make it.

Then The Mayor said the three of us should have an apéro together: my wife, him, and me. We can talk about my crazy ideas.

Why not?

Then we talked about the wild boar dinner in Hatten in September. The Mayor wants tickets. I said when I have tickets, I will name tickets for him. He wanted to know the price. I do not know the price yet. Maybe 20 or 22 euros.

He wanted three tickets: Mary, him, and Fruitloop.

Fruitloop also needs a flight ticket from South Africa, of course.

We eat wild boar and drink beer. It is Saturday afternoon, probably the second weekend in September. I think maybe 12 September. Then on 13 September, I want to do another marche gourmande in Wingen, 12 or 15 kilometres, with seven stations for eating and drinking.

The Mayor said this one is very good.

It is very good. A lot to eat. Not very expensive. Just very good.

Then they asked if completing the 100 kilometres changed my idea of energy.

I said the energy was okay. The feet were the problem. But now, in general, I think I have a little more energy because I have done it. The challenge was against myself, and I have done it.

I hope I can confirm this in one and a half months, because my goal is to make at least one more 100 kilometres.

Maybe the next one is in Belgium, near Brussels. I do not know exactly north, south, east, or west. I will find it on the internet.

The Mayor said maybe he can drive there.

This was interesting.

Then we began to talk about him doing a 100 kilometre walk.

I said he has free will to make his own decisions. This is my gift for him.

I register him for 100 kilometres.

The Mayor did not like this gift so much.

He said, “Not over my dead body.”

But I explained it properly. He gives Fruitloop a little bag. I give him registration for 100 kilometres. I send a little postcard. Everybody has a little gift.

Fruitloop gets a 600 euro handbag. The Mayor gets 100 kilometres. I get a postcard.

What is the problem?

The Mayor said something was not quite right, because he has to walk 100 kilometres and buy the handbag, while I just send a postcard.

But I said in 40 years he will look back and think, “Ah, 100 kilometres.”

He said in 40 years he will be 105.

What is the problem?

I am optimistic.

The Mayor said we need to drink one or two beers before we sign anything.

I agree. For important decisions, beer is necessary.

Then Fruitloop said she could see the headline already: “I sent The Mayor on a 100 kilometre walk.”

The Mayor said he had been roped into something. Fruitloop gets a handbag. He gets a 100 kilometre walk. I get a postcard.

It is perfect.

Then Fruitloop asked what advice I would give to a friend who wanted more energy but could change only one thing.

I said: come with me next week.

Learning by doing.

The Mayor asked if he could bring his Zimmer frame.

No. In nature there are no stairs.

He said if he does this, he will not speak German or French. I must speak English for 17 kilometres. And I must buy the beer afterwards.

I said okay.

He said 12 kilometres is peanuts.

So I said, if it is peanuts, make 17.

That is fair.

Fruitloop wanted pictures. Proof. Evidence. Before and after.

We will send pictures.

Then the weather came back. I said I hope it is not like today, because 40 degrees is no good. Maybe 25 to 30, maximum 32. That is okay.

The Mayor said in England they have 16 degrees. In South Africa also 16 degrees, and for them it is extreme temperature.

Fruitloop said it was cloudy.

We decided next week we must do two things. I drag The Mayor through the hills, and we send sunshine to South Africa. Maybe in the same parcel as the little bag.

Then I said I am not afraid, because I run faster than Frank.

Now there is a challenge.

Fruitloop said please do not hurt yourselves.

She also wanted videos if we decide to run.

Before and after pictures are enough.

At the end, The Mayor said he needed to drink something.

I think he needed it because he realised he had maybe agreed to walk with me.

For me, it was a pleasure.

A conversation with Fruitloop and The Mayor is like a training session. You use English. You laugh. You speak about wine, beer, bad spirits, shooting, 100 kilometres, handbags, South Africa, Christmas markets, and wild boar.

Afterwards, you are tired.

But it is good tired.

It gives energy.