2007-11-01

Put down that . . .

France has this really great law that bans you from talking on your cell phone while driving. I'm sure many studies have proven that it is very dangerous to talk on your cell phone while driving.

Hopefully soon they will ban smoking while driving. I've seen mothers driving their kids to school while puffing one half out the window, truck drivers taking both hands momentarily off the wheel to light one up, and even a guy on a motorcycle toking away with one hand while maneuvering with the other. I mean, look at this guy in the picture, he isn't even trying to look at the road! (Okay, okay, I just got this picture someplace on the internet, and the guy isn't even French, unless he is just taking a holiday in the UK somewhere, and very recently left a military establishmen).

This whole smoking thing really baffles me. It's not just people smoking while driving, they do it everywhere. Walking their kids to the door of the school, sitting at the outdoor playplace at McDo, while helping their kids play on the monkey bars at the park, even while pushing their babies in strollers. Ladies toting Louis Vuitton bags or sporting a great pair of Chanel sunglasses puffing away in the faces of their children. Teenagers lighting up their lives on the way to ballet class, and old ladies grasping for air enjoying their golden years.

My kids keep asking me why everyone here smokes. I have yet to think up a clever response, for now I just say "Smoking is bad! You can get cancer and your breath always stinks and your teeth turn yellow and you have trouble breathing and you can lose all your money buying cigarettes and nobody will like you if you are stinky and dying!"

Geez, I wonder what I am going to tell them about cell phones?

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh man, that's so gross!

1.11.07  
Blogger Rebecca said...

Stasha,
Your blog site was sent to my sister Catherine via Courtney Dana. Catherine forwarded it to me. What an incredible experinece for your family. How adventurous! We can laugh some day about all the things you are experiencing. I went to Lycee myself in high school and lived in a Paris suburb before my mission to Paris in 93-94. I served mostly in Normandy. Life in France is incredible. We have moved again and are expecting #4 in March. We settled in CT for a better commute for David. Send me your mailing address and I will send you a Christmas card with our new info. Grosses bisoux pour tous! Rebecca

5.11.07  
Blogger La Vie est Belle said...

Hi! It has been a while! Congratulations on number 4! Can't wait to hear more about the move, the baby, etc. Can you believe we are getting so old? Je t'embrasse!

9.11.07  
Blogger La Vie est Belle said...

151 Chemin des Faisses
06250 Mougins

9.11.07  

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