The Epic Voyage of a Clic-Clac

Listen my children and you shall hear....a tale of valiant struggle, heroism, feats of daring, and triumph over daunting odds.  Noteworthy, even during a weekend of high adventure in the streets of Nevers (speeches, strikes, anniversaries, proposals of marriage...but more on that to come), the journey of Therese's futon is an epic unto itself.  Read on...

First: the setting--Carrefour, the Target of France; the time--a gray and prematurely cold Saturday afternoon in October; the cast of characters--four daring English teaching assistants devoid of automated transportation but stout of heart.  Pictured above are Therese, the mission's leader, new tenant of a beautiful but unfurnished apartment and new owner of a bargain futon or, in the French, "clic-clac" (for real!!),  Maxine, and Kali (yours truly was holding the camera).  Our mission: to carry the futon from its place of origin to its new home.

The prospect of this task astonished the unassuming Frenchwoman who sold us the futon and brought it out for us on an industrial-sized hand truck.  Undaunted, though, we boldly set off, traversing the five-block distance with only a handful of stops along the way.

Ignoring passing motorists, ambulances, curious passersby, and our own trembling arms, we finally attained the sanctuary of Therese's apartment.  It was only once inside, however that our troubles really began.

The first set of stairs was a challenge in itself, but worse awaited us around the corner of the next landing:

Faced with this herculean challenge however, we did not blanch, but put our shoulders to the wheel (or rather, the futon), and bravely soldiered on, scaling the heights with minimal damage to our backs and our dignities.  Lest any reader, amazed by the narrow and alpine nature of this last staircase, doubt the veracity of our accomplishment, I offer proof in the form of the view of us at the summit, resting after our labors.

From there it was but the matter of a few more feet of pushing, and the futon was in Therese's apartment, where its arrival was welcomed with appropriate expressions of glee and victory.