My French Family

Orly was a small airport back then.  Charles de Gaulle airport did not exist.

When I arrived at Orly Airport, there was no one to greet me.  After a time I went to the visitor's desk to request that they announce my arrival over the loudspeaker system.  A few minutes later my new family appeared.

The Orsoni family included four children: Jean - 23, Pierre - 20, Luce -17 and Annie -13.  I addressed the parents as Oncle Louis and Tante Suzanne.

Here I am with Oncle Louis and Tante Suzanne. This picture was taken several years later when I was 23.

During most of my stay, Jean was absent.  He was completing his military service.  I believe all young men had to serve for 2 years or so.  At that time Algeria was fighting for its independence from France.  In May of that year, there had been a revolt in Algeria and Charles de Gaulle, who had left the government 12 years previously, returned to head the 5th Republic.  Jean served in Algeria for several months.  As I remember he was stationed in a lookout on top of a mountain.  With his fellow soldiers, he conducted surveillance of the desert below. It was a lonely spot.  Tante Suzanne sent him care packages of dried fruit, books and yarn.  He and his buddies spent long hours knitting!

Rugged Algerian mountains.

Pierre, the second son, was in college in Lille.  He attended L’Ecole National d’Arts et Métiers and was studying to be an engineer.  He came home for holidays.  I’ll have to admit I was smitten with him, but then again I was smitten with several French boys and young men at the time.

Me, Oncle Louis, Grand-père, Pierre and Luce. I believe we were attending a wedding. I didn't have a party dress but I did have my white gloves!

Luce and I became close friends.  That year she was studying for her Baccalauréat exam.  This test is taken at the end of one’s high school studies and is the ticket to move on to university. She needed to study assiduously that year but we managed to have a lot of fun.  Luce returned with me to the States the following year.

Luce and I in the gardens of Versailles.

We took a picture of Luce with all the books and dictionaries she used for her baccalauréat with a Latin major.

Annie and I attended classes together although I was a bit older. Due to my rudimentary knowledge of French, I was placed a year behind in school. In spite of this, I seemed closer in maturity to Luce.  Annie was a cheerful, fun-loving girl.

Annie after a snow storm -an exciting and rare occurrence in the Paris area.