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ENTRE LE VERSEAU ET LES POISSONS.

Sur la pointe des pieds en regardant par la fenêtre. j'ai découvert l'univers. Tous les matins le soleil se levait sur la mer, ses rayons embrasaient les salines et jetaient dans le ciel des diamants étincelants. Sur la route les troupeaux de moutons, les caravanes, passaient à la poursuite des pluies saisonnières

Quand j'avais cinq ans, Le 1er Octobre, ma mère m'a accompagné à l'école. Je ne savais pas que j'allais aller à l'école toute ma vie.
Tous les dimanches après la messe, nous allions tous au marché qui était près du vieux port. Plus d'une personne attendait. Les pêcheurs arabes arrivaient en courant et déversaient sur les dalles de pierre de la poissonnerie le contenu de leurs sacs, des loups, des merlans, des mulets, des soles. Les poissons encore vivants frétillaient. J'adorais les cris, les couleurs, l'odeur du sel et de la mer. Ma mère me faisait un signe et je choisissais ce que nous allions manger à midi.

ON THE CUSP : AQUARIUS & PISCES

I was born in February in my parents' bedroom. The family doctor came to our home. It was a beautiful day. The sky was cloudless. Almond trees were blooming.

I discovered the world on my tiptoes looking over the windowsill. Every morning the sun rose over the sea and a million beads of light would rise over the salt flats. On the road, close to us, were flocks of sheep, dromedaries and nomads following the seasons.

When I was five, on October 1st, my mother walked me to school. Little did she know that I was going to go to school for the rest of my life.

Every Sunday after church, all five of us would go to the market that was near the old port of Sfax. Often people were waiting. Soon an Arab fisherman would come running with his catch. On the stone slab he would empty his basket. The fish were alive, wriggling. The calls, the colors, and the deep scent of the salt and the sea filled my heart with joy. My Mom nodded and I would choose the lucky fish that we would eat that day for lunch.

OSCAR B. CINTAS (1887 - 1957)

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Pierre Cintas pfc1@psu.edu 

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PENN STATE ABINGTON 
ABINGTON, PA 19001-3990
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This web site designed by Catherine White of CFWhiteDesigns and was first updated July 22, 2002

Updated: November 28, 2006