When I’m in Provence, I can’t help feeling back in Southern California. The same sweetness of star jasmine beckons me to breathe in memories of my backyard; the same rhythmic rasping of insect legs sings to me of fleeting summer promises. Only they don’t bother waiting till dark—and they have earned a more melodic name than “cricket.” Cicadas. I used to dream about them. The sophisticated, continental cousins of Jiminy and company. I wanted to belong to their world. To gaze at their surroundings: marshlands and stone houses; lavender fields and parched dirt paths. And the sea beyond. To prostate myself before them and tell them that I’m ready for more.Cast from La Gloire de mon père as the Pagnol family. [Online image] 1989.
