random PERSONAL TIDBITS into my life’s journey, and shared with others…
Bonjour my dearest Friends ❤
This brand new section of my Website will simply feature various tidbits of a wide variety of sharings, essays and memories, about my personal life journey, as well as very random information that I love to share with others, and just as I love to share them on various Social Medias for my friends/followers, especially on Facebook, simply to share with all what brings smiles and learnings to our respective days 🙂
They will all of course be addressing a very wideeeeeeee (not a typo or sticky keyboard 😉 ) range of subjects, all dear to my heart and soul, or being of intellectual or emotional interest to my mind and spirit… and hopefully to yours as well <3 . Their only commonality will be to their overall positivism, and being useful, interesting, inspirational, as well as bringing smiles to your days…
I will keep progressively adding new posts to it so that you can peruse through them as you please…
With much much love to YOU ❤ as well as to all the people who live in your heart! ❤
pascal
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
thought of sharing a few thoughts about my cute little afternoon at Jordan Lake today… which ended up being all about… SHOTGUNS!!! lol … as well as meeting “interesting” new “friends” 😉 lol
Let me share a few words about it as it sooo cracked me up!!!…
So I headed to Jordan Lake early afternoon, as I often do ❤ and since when you can not travel (thanks to 6 kidney stones still in my right kidney) you then simply create your own happiness and “self made vacations” … in your own backyard ❤ (btw what I call “synthesized happiness” is soooo much more amazing, and constantly available ❤ since… I… well… self create it 😉 ❤ than “regular” happiness…).
So… after doing a walk with a dear friend, I start to drone to create a new little Film to share with you and everyone… and I am standing by the road … my drone 2 or 300ft away and a Gentleman in a gorgeous sparkling bass boat comes close to me and clearly wants to say Hi ❤ so of course, me loving people… I say Hi with a big smile and endless love in my heart for a potential new friend when I then hear coming out very loud, and quite agressively out of the mouth of this new “friend” “DID YOU KNOW that the game warden told me that I can now carry a SHOTGUN in my boat and if your drone gets too close to me I CAN SHOOT IT!!!…”.
Well… of course… a million things could come to my mind in that moment and with that quite unexpected “unLOVE” 😉 but all I could think was, as I ALWAYS shift to right away when I encounter people who clearly could use… a hug… or a massage… or a yummy pastry… or some tender love making… you know? all those very “French” 😉 very “happy things”… so all I shifted to in that moment was ” I love you too! ” ❤ right!? always loveee that approach ❤
Anyways… fast forward an hour later… and I now decided to walk a little more as the weather is gorgeousss and my friend is gone but, always in the spirit of “do NOT ever miss this day… or this moment…” cause’ guess what?! 😉 I won’t get to live this afternoon again… ever! 😉 so I decide on my drive back to durham to stop at a random parking lot… that happens to be… empty… and I see a wood entrance so… with my skinny jeans on and my flowery shirt ❤ typical outfit for little me 😉 (those details have some importance in what is going to unfold next) I start to walk in the woods sooooo excited to discover new beauty all around ❤
I decide to check on my dear friend Virginia Wheatley who has been sick and as I start walking and therefore am on the phone with her when the conversation very randomly shifts to her asking me “where are you walking now btw?”… I explain to her where… and she shifts right away, with her always so very caring beautiful heart, to “are you on a trail?…” to which I explain … not really… we chat some more… I get a little deeper into the woods then I suddenly say to her “Oh! guess what!? there are a bunch of shotgun sheels on the ground!…” (they are plastic so, having been beautifully trained by little sunshine to remove any and all plastics from our beautiful earth, I of course pick them up…) and then I head my friend Virginia’s voice getting into worried and very concerned mode and she says “Are you … right into GAME LAND!?” and I am like “I have no idea… but there are more and more shells everywhere! ” and soooo super sweetly she starts to go “You MUST get out of there! this is not good!” … to which I say ” Hold one! if this is “game” land… I wanna play too!!! ❤ ” to which she says right away “Pascal this is not funny! You MUST get out of there! especially as the light is going down! Hunters sometimes get drunk and shoot the wrong thing !!! “… or maybe I WAS going to be the actual “GAME”? 😉 … anyways, I of course deeply apprciate being the recipient of her always beautiful caring <3 and… me being me… I start to joke that ” I am fine… and btw how funny of a story would it be if you heard a BANG on the phone and you suddenly don’t hear me talk anymore!” 😉 and she says right away “NOT FUNNY!” and guess what happens next? I hear … BANG BANG BANG! 3 shots! super close to me… and I then start to think “Virginia is right… Pascal is stupid!” ! lol and I start this time to walk back where I came from… and I suddenly see … guess what? 3 hunters (who, unlike me ARE wearing the super reflective jackets that Virginia was telling me I MUST wear if go to hunting places like this!) and of course I approach them (you know how much I loveee people… ALL people <3 I have never crossed path with someone in my life I could not connect with somehow ❤ ) ) and I say with my accent + flowery shirt + skinny jeans , all while they are staring at me like the weirdest contraption they have ever seen in those woods! lol … ” Hi guys! how are y’all doing!?… (typical french redneck southern accent 😉 ) ) What are you guys hunting for!?… with great interest in my questions… and their answer was ” SQUIRRELS!!! ” 🙁 🙁 🙁
Well… there too a million thoughts came to my mind in that moment 🙂 😉 none of them judgemental of course … and while Virginia was still in my bluetooth telling me with loving concern to “keep walking out of there!” I thought to myself ” I love you too!” and… headed out of the woods… while hearing many more shots very very nearby…
Maybe I should have mentionned to them that a very refined “Bordelaise Sauce” might go amazingly well with their “major tropies of the day!” ? … or maybe not 😉
So there you have it, a little sharing about my afternoon of “shotgun” adventures 😉
Such an always amazing gift to be alive… to have a chance to make always new “friends” right!? 😉 and to definitely always practice endlessly non judgmentalism (not sure if a word? but should be one if not ❤ )
All in all … YIPIIIIII YAY to neither my drone or little me to have any “lead” in our booties ;)❤
I super hope that your afternoon was super fun too! ❤
With much much love to YOU ❤
pascal
ps: little snapshot attached is my pretending to smoke like a cigar one of the many shells I recovered to disgard properly … while working on my new video footage at Barnes & Noble… I might save one of the shells to remind myself about the most beautiful part of this whole afternoon <3 which is that we ALWAYS have a choice to embrace kindness ❤ and we ALWAYS have a choice to NOT JUDGE and let people free to be… just as we want to live our own lives ❤ … and I sooooo LOVE to live every minute of my life and of my heart by those principles, and many more ❤
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
… as many of you already know, both of my arms (as well as many other body parts) are pretty much always in pain, the left one from the defibrillator (ICD) being inserted permanently deep into my left chest (with 2 wires going inside my heart to “chock me”/ defibrillate me if needed at any given time…), 
and the right one from being very weakened first from having lost its function suddenly (which triggered the spinal fusion surgery) and then a few months later having suddenly what they call “frozen shoulder” … so of course this does not make DANCING (or anything else “using arms”! lol ) very easy to say the least… but guess what!?… I will always do my very best to never let PAIN or limitations (except if so bad that I am heading… to the E.R.! lol ) rob me from whatever amount of life, days, hours I still have the hugeeee privilege, and pure luck, of living <3 so… I went back, once again, to SALSA this week at Carmen… and was I able to dance for 3 hours as before? Hell no! lol … of course not but did I enjoy a little hour of it ! Hell YES! <3
and the right one from being very weakened first from having lost its function suddenly (which triggered the spinal fusion surgery) and then a few months later having suddenly what they call “frozen shoulder” … so of course this does not make DANCING (or anything else “using arms”! lol ) very easy to say the least… but guess what!?… I will always do my very best to never let PAIN or limitations (except if so bad that I am heading… to the E.R.! lol ) rob me from whatever amount of life, days, hours I still have the hugeeee privilege, and pure luck, of living <3 so… I went back, once again, to SALSA this week at Carmen… and was I able to dance for 3 hours as before? Hell no! lol … of course not but did I enjoy a little hour of it ! Hell YES! <3 And guess what?! 😉 whenever I will die again (I know a thing or two about that subject right!? 😉 ) I will not for a moment think “Oh Gosh! maybe I should have stayed home even more because I was in pain… or maybe I should have sat on my couch a little more often because of the pain!.. “ Hell no!!! 😉 lol
I will be soooo thankful that I did not let the pain and the endless struggles and the limitations make me miss LIVING… and make me miss HUMAN EXPERIENCES… whether dancing… or shooting for a client (that I sooo love every minute of ! <3 ) or going on walk with a friend… or catching a movie…
Life is truly all about NOW and TODAY and none of us ever know how much of it we have left… or how much of it we have left with our CURRENT abilities… so PLEASE <3 PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE <3 try your best to NOT let life’s endless curve balls, unexpected turns and scars from the past shut you down or keep you stranded at home… for there is SOOOOO much love and joy and beauty out there in each and everyone of our days for us to go to… walk to… drive to… crawl to if we have to! lol ( I still remember vividly how after my 2 weeks in ICU and my very first “walk” with my amazing then girlfriend Leah, I could barely walk 20ft or so… sooo slowly… soooo fragile… before having to sit back down… but those 20ft IS what my memory now remembers smiling <3 , for the rest of my life)
And maybe I will see YOU <3 (no matter how much pain YOU also have in your days and life, whether physically or emotionally or both, as most of us do!) at the next SALSA or BACHATTA (I loveeee Bachatta <3 ) social? 🙂
And in that spirit I wanted to share with you today a song and dance by two so beautiful and so graceful dancers that bring tremendous joy to my soul and eyes <3 and I truly hope that they will do the very same to YOURS <3
It always brings such a big smile to my day to watch Isabelle and Felicien, and it all sooooo makes me want to get up, invite, for the time of a song, any Woman who likes to dance in any Cafe where I am currently working… and start dancing <3
With much MUCH love to YOU <3
pascal
ps: and for those of you who like “medical stuff” as I like to call it 😉 feel free to check out my blog about my little medical journey of this past year and a half…
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
as much as I have a longggg list of things to pinpoint as “not so good” 😉 about the French 😉 ((otherwise I would not have left them when I was 20ish right?! 😉 ) … I ALSO am more than happy to give them credit when they are just super artistic and creative… as they indeed can often be! <3
Here is a both super funny and super creative little french cartoon (love the voices too) that I loved <3 I hope that it will bring a smile to your day too <3 (that whole series is awesome!!)
lots of love to YOU <3
pascal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNJdvTHBOE4&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2d4xpKE3QwJMSlVYJSV5hQIYwxcJ3Fwbo8gIAW8vnj5_t0d_yU9yX4vp8
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
I highly recommend ATYPICAL on Netflix… soooo much for each and everyone of us to learn about loving and understanding each other always more <3 only from CHERISHING our endless DIFFERENCES can we transcend our own journey and hearts…
Instead of judging them and critiquing our differences as some people do (especially those who wear kind of a headless orange squirrel (did not know those existed… at least I learned something for these past 3 years 😉 ) let’s never for an instant forget to CHERISH and CELEBRATE THEM!
Just a final thought to share with you… if EVERYONE ELSE was just like you… and EVERY FLOWER was exactly the same… and EVERY ANIMAL looked all the same… how horribly depressing life would be?… just sayin’ 😉
I LOVEEEE ALL of YOUR DIFFERENCES… each and everyone of them <3
With lots of love to YOU <3
pascal
ps: my little humor about our President’s hair style of course comes with endless and true compassion for him… just as I choose to extend to each and everyone around me… whether I agree with their choices of character or not… True compassion always starts with extending it to everyone, especially those who have not found it yet…
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
PLEASE make sure that you watch this on NETFLIX…
Oftentimes, our “pleasures” come to great invisible “costs” … both to other human beings, just like us (even though extremely less “lucky” than us, and if you are reading these words on a phone or computer or tablet… and have the TIME and FREEDOM and LUXURY to read them, and me to write them in the very same context and spirit… then trust me, YOU and I ARE EXTREMELY “LUCKY” … as in “PRIVILEGED”… as in with EXTREMELY “EASY” LIVES (even if sometimes you might not think so)… but GUESS WHAT?… the people doing the hard labor at the very root of the cycle of what ends up in your plate or grocery store, often times, have EXTREMELY HARD and UNFAIR LIVES… and this documentary does an amazing job at showing us so… now what we all do with that information is up to each and everyone of us… all starting with making our hearts and souls ALWAYS more COMPASSIONATE for the struggles of others… and ALWAYS more GRATEFUL for our endless PRIVILEGES…
With lots of love to you… and even more so to all the people featured in this documentary… (thank you so much to my little sunshine Stephanie <3 for bringing it to my attention)
pascal
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
Today is “FIRST RESPONDER DAY” <3 <3 <3
Please extend a HUGGGGGE THANK YOU to all the AMAZING FIRST RESPONDERS of our beautiful country! They are true HEROES ! <3
…and they might very well one day… SAVE YOUR OWN LIFE or the one of YOUR CHILDREN or PARENTS or COMPANION or LOVED ONES! <3
They saved MY LIFE and I will never be thankful enough to those 3 First Responders <3 who saved my life with defibrillation of my failing heart, picking me up from my kitchen floor where I had collapsed, and rushed me to the E.R. over a year ago!!! <3
I will share on this day this modest Film I shot a year or so ago, right in the heart of Durham…
With lots of love to ALL THE FIRST RESPONDERS of our country!
pascal
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
…over the past year and 1/2 since my massive heart attack, I have tried so many times to return to swimming (I was swimming 120 laps 3 times a week right before my heart attack… and now down to… 25 little baby laps 🙁 but what matters is to always do simply better than yesterday… or a few hours ago… never measuring things relative to 1 or 10 years ago…) and every single time I tried a brand new major health issue took me away from it through one of my past 7 surgeries since the heart attack…
Whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish… PLEASE always only “compare” it or “measure it” compared to the YOU of yesterday… or a few hours or a few minutes ago… NOT from the YOU a long time ago… or a major event ago… and certainly never ever compare it to… OTHERS! This journey, and your efforts and progression are all about YOU and YOU ONLY!
Baby steps … even MICRO STEPS… is the key starting anything new… or restarting anything…
With lots and lot of love to YOU <3
pascal
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
If you like romance… true life… true emotions… people… life’s and personal struggles (ok we do NOT “like” those of course! 🙁 but they are always our golden opportunities for evolving of self, and true transcending of our character… so, I am of course deeply grateful for them! <3 ) … if you like love… if you like couples… if you love all the beautiful things of life and people… like I do <3 … watch this series <3
All my admiration especially goes out to Anne Hathaway (OK OK! I have had a crush on her forever! 😉 ) for her INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE in her episode and about a truly heart breaking subject and emotional struggle that we ALL need to be aware of for how it affects in such struggling ways the lives of too many people…watching it will allow all of use to have true and endless COMPASSION for their struggles and offer endless caring, love and support to them… I am referring here to people struggling with being bi polar 🙁 and my heart SO goes out to you <3 if you do, or if you know people who do…
Anne’s performance is just incredible and totally heart breaking… please don’t miss watching it!
With lots of love to YOU <3
pascal
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8543390/
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
Jordan Lake’s blissfulness…right in this moment ❤
When your health struggles, or your financial limitations,or any other reasons…prevent you from traveling (all 3 in my case! lol ) you then create your own happiness and magical perfect moments from enjoying all the great beauty, love, and magic…that is ALWAYS all around us (20mn from Durham in that case😊) if we simply remember to open our eyes and souls to it all ❤ ❤ ❤
Our AMAZINGGGG little big blue planet is as PERFECTLY BEAUTIFUL and MAGICAL as we can ever wish for… and trust me on that one, I DID visit… allllll the other planets ! 🙂 THIS ONE is by far the BESTEST EVER! ❤
With lots of love to you ❤
pascal
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
Jordan lake 10mn ago💗
Who needs to ever go far away?… when all the beauty, love, magic, and wonderment that our soul and eyes could ever wish for…is right in our backyard?💗 20 mn. from Durham…
Thanks to 1/2 of my heart being dead tissue + 6 kidney stones having decided to move in my right kidney 😉 (the stones just told me that my kidney was much cozier than an AirBnB so… they decided to stay inside me 😉 ) I just can not travel anywhere anymore so… I still make sure that I find endless sources of amazing “mind and soul” travels… all within 30 mn. from my home 🙂
The Art of ADAPTIVITY is so critical to our life’s journey isn’t it? 😍
Whatever is thrown at me (whether my 7 recent surgeries? or a massive heart attack?… or both actually 😉 ) I will always find a way to adapt to still bring endless joys and beauties to my eyes and soul… failing to do so would be just be way too sad… and we simply can never “miss” a single drop of life and moment gifted to us… for one day it will not be our privilege to do so anymore… just as I got a little (quite brutal!) taste of when I died for 6 minutes a year or so ago… pleaseeeee never ever “miss” any sources of beauty and soulfulness and love in your days… they are the very core of the true, and whole, meaning of Life ❤
With lotsss of love to YOU ❤
pascal
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
sharing little tip on… the SHINGLES vaccine!
Based how so very weak and depleted my whole body and system really are (due to my 7 surgeries and massive heart attack – and functioning on 1/2 of a regular heart since 1/2 of it is now forever scar tissue from the heart attack), I am more prone to say Yes to any vaccine that might shelter me from new illnesses and issues… and so I just got the 2nd shot of my SHINGLE vaccine yesterday and i feel like… hummm?… let me try to think of a great beautiful Shakespearean word?… like CRAP! 😉 lol
I just wanted to share this info with you so that you do not do the vaccine right before a trip, or something important to you, as it DOES takes a big toll on one’s body! 🙁
With much MUCH love to YOU <3
pascal
* copy of one of my recent Facebook’s posts *
I wanted to share a word about this most incredibly powerful new show on Netflix… a series about one of the most horrific, and destructive of so many lives 🙁 , subjects known to mankind 🙁 rape!!! 🙁 🙁 🙁
This is such an incredibly powerful show… and your eyes and your heart will cry, just as mine did, both for the actresses featured as well as for our thoughts going to the millions of victims 🙁 of such a barbaric act that scars its victims so deeply that their entire life, soul, an
d faith in humanity, will be literally forever affected 🙁
d faith in humanity, will be literally forever affected 🙁 I SO deeply wish that our society, our medias, and our culture, would promote endless kindness and caring to each other… endless mindfulness of the suffering of others… and a recurrent message and reminders to never EVER bring harm to any single human beings!!!…
My heart dreams every single day of such a world… and every single step, no matter how small, that we all take in that direction… DOES MATTER!!!
And as you will notice in the scene where the main young actress and victim is trying to serve some hot dogs, through her job, to a woman (who is SO unkind and upset at her) in a store… or the scene where she is running out on her boss after she has been shifted to another position in the store’s warehouse… let’s please remind ourselves every single instant of our days that THAT WOMAN (or THAT MAN) that is clearly having a very rough time or moment when we interact with them… maybe… just maybe… as this young actress just did… has indeed been raped just a few days prior… or has been affected by any other wide range of dramatic and terribly painful trauma… and whether it happened a few days prior… or a few decades ago… CHOOSING (as we ALL have the choice to!) to approach EVERYONE we interact with through our days with the very same heart filled with endless compassion and empathy for their suffering, whether it is visible to our eyes or not, WILL not only change the world for the better… but also change THEIR world in that moment… while also changing YOUR OWN HEART for the better…
Every single gesture that we do in the direction of endless kindness, caring and compassion to all… DOES MATTER!!!
With much much love to you and all those who live in your heart,
pascal
*copy of one of my recent Facebook's Post*
so… guess what !? (I loveee that soo cute American expression! <3 )… Life is filled with ENDLESS BEAUTIFUL (and not so beautiful as well of course) totally unexpected SURPRISES!!!
In the “not so beautiful” 😉 category… I would of course include, among many other major sources of major suffering in my life, my totally unexpected massive HEART ATTACK a year or so ago and my subsequent 7 surgeries… and in the SUPER BEAUTIFUL category I just got reminded from randomly bumping in this photo, of the overall totally unexpected turns of my overall life’s journey… for the better <3
So this snapshot was taken by my Mom (who of course NEVER would have guessed, and me neither, that just a few years ago I would suddenly decide to become… a Photographer! lol ) and this photo features my parent’s AMERICAN (surprise!!!) friends visiting us, as well as my Dad and I, all driving in a JEEP of the… US ARMY (double surprise!!!) that my Dad had bought from someone (I have NO CLUE WHY he did so!? as he had never traveled out of France and was, just like me, a very “simple” and more on the French country/red neck kind of guy!) and which was… surprise!!! a left over car from the Second World War during which… AMERICANS (surprise again!!!) literally SAVED all of France!!! (which is why, if I was President of France, I would WELCOME each and every American at the Paris airport with a hugeeee grateful hug and unlimited fresh croissants for their stay! … just sayin’!!! what the heck happened to gratitude right!?… oh well… that’s true… French people are not sure at all on how to spell that word! 😉 )
OK so now fast forward to this day… and I would have NEVER EVER in a million years back then imagined that I would EVER suddenly decide to leave everything in France, as I did at 22 years old or so, right after my half engineer school and my MBA… and then moved all across the Atlantic to the USA… only to become years later a super duper PROUD American citizen myself <3 … and spend my entire adult life here in “AMERICA” <3 <3 <3
Life is indeed filled with AMAZINGGGGGLY BEAUTIFUL surprises… and for the “not so beautiful ones” let’s learn to master the endlessly powerful Art of ACCEPTANCE and ADAPTATION… 2 skills without which I would most certainly not be around to share these words with you!
PLEASE feel free to share here under YOUR OWN LIFE’s BEAUTIFUL SURPRISES (and not so beautiful if you wish as well and as we all learn from each other’s journey <3 )
With much much love to YOU <3
pascal
ps: btw I am the very strange awkward looking contraption… nerd looking (I was a super nerd! lol ) with strange bushy hair on the very right of the photo… behind my Papa <3 who is driving…
*copy of Facebook Post*
…sharing with you a few snapshots (crappy quality thanks to my crappy phone! lol ) of our SOOO blissful few days at the beach with Stephanie <3 … and we SOOOO enjoyed a brand new little addition to our trips, an AMAZINGGGGG beach tent that, after researching lots of them, I bought on Amazon (link here under in case you would like to check it out) and Oh my we SOOO LOVED it!!! <3
We set it up in literally just a minute or so !… and what a great joy to protect our skin from the all day long sun… while also protecting all of our gear and food and drinks from the sand!… I truly highly recommend it!
It is so rare to buy something that truly makes your vacation 10 times better! … but that blue cutie that we named “cocoon” did it! 😉 <3
I truly hope that YOU are also enjoying the amazingggg weather and waters of our most majestic ocean <3 I am SOOOO grateful to live on our blue little big planet <3
Lots of love to YOU <3
pascal
you can CLICK HERE if you would like to check out that amazing tent <3
Pacific Breeze Easy Setup Beach Tent Deluxe XL (XL with Extendable Floor)
*copy of Facebook Post*
… the endless Beauties, Love & Magic of CAFE DRIADE’s trail that I love to walk 💗and cherish for many photo shoots💗
a great read for those of you GETTING MARRIED or knowing someone who is going to…
an absolutely AMAZING MOVIE about an AMAZING MAN and AMAZING TRUE STORY about World War 2 !
EXODUS… a most amazing, powerful, rich and meaningful Movie… a MUST WATCH…
a very powerful new documentary on Netflix… on the horrific and heartbreaking subject of… RAPE! 🙁
the only time I ever had a real “job” in my life!… 30+ years ago!… lasting for all of 6 months! lol