Romantic August, 2012, Paris Texas style

I'm positive that there has not been another more beautiful August in Paris, Texas. The grass is green. The temperature is way under 100. There is no humidity at nighttime, and you can take a drive in your convertible with the top down. It has been oh-so romantic!

It reminds me of Jane Austin. Pride and Prejudice, Liz and Darcy, Bingley and Jane, and all those quotes that we love to love.  (All of these pictures are from the 2005 movie).


 I would say that we women love to love Austin, but I know there are plenty of men out there who recognize the power of her works, including Harold Bloom, who somehow gets it right in his reviews of Jane Austin (but don't talk to me about his reviews of Tolstoy!).



I recently posted a fun quote on Facebook from Pride and Prejudice that I always think of when I get to enjoy a good walk. I was surprised at the number of people who noticed and liked the quote -- isn't it wonderful how Austin still speaks to us today? She speaks to us because she is romantic, but not in a sappy way.  She is witty and pokes fun at her society, with perfect command of the language for each character, but she is not mean about it.  I can't quite figure out how she does it, but I am glad that she does.

Here is the walking quote:


"She has nothing, in short, to recommend her, but being an excellent walker. I shall never forget her appearance this morning. She really looked almost wild."
. . .
 
 "To walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, above her ankles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! What could she mean by it? It seems to me to shew an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country-town indifference to decorum."



(As spoken by the lovely Caroline Bingley).

May we all have the joy of such a country-town indifference!

So, as this August draws to a close, I will continue to think of Jane Austin and romance, right here in Paris, Texas. And I will be thankful for the ability to walk and enjoy the great outdoors in our little country-town area.

Now, just to keep it real, I provide you with a lovely view of what our local guys are really doing, and thinking, and talking about.

Well, that is, if they aren't talking football.  (Thank you Casey Ressler for this awesome shot!)  And since I gave a girl reading quote, here is one for our boys:  

“Any time a boy is ready to learn about guns is the time he’s ready, no matter how young he is, and you can’t start too young to learn how to be careful.”

 ― Robert Ruark, The Old Man and the Boy