That is why in France, candidates not only kiss babies, they kiss cows.
That is by Stephen Clarke, in the New York Times Op-Ed page.
The best sentence I read this morning over breakfast
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Like the author of the book, I’m amused by the tendency among the French to correct pronunciation of their language by foreigners.
Back in high school, we had an exchange student from Paris. One day he started railling against a girl for “sounding like an American” rather than a Parisien when speaking French. “Your accent’s all wrong”, he said. So, in her defense, I retaliated with a tu quoque. I said, “You sound like a Parisian speaking English. Your accent is all wrong. You don’t sound English, American, South African, or Australian, etc.” He was stunned, as it had never occurred to him that the complaint could go both ways. We native English-speakers just tend to accept others’ accents.
They do in Ireland as well, and not just cows. Pigs, chickens, lambs, you name it, animals are revered as gods. While you Americans like your coins to contain extravagant images of noble looking wigged Presidents, we Irish emblazoned our coins (pre-euro) with our own little heroes – pigs, fish, horses and cows. Ah memories…
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