Author Georges Simenon

Georges Simenon is quoted in THE WRITER’s QUOTATION BOOK by James Charlton, Editor, on page 52, as saying, “Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.”

In case you are not already acquainted with this phenomenal author, you are in for a treat. The “facts” following have been gleaned from various internet sources and are not guaranteed to be totally accurate since writers have numerous ideas about his life. Read with a grain of salt!

Georges Simenon was Belgian, but he wrote all his books in French. His creation, Inspector Jules Maigret, is second only to Sherlock Holmes as the world’s most well-known detective.

Georges Joseph Christian Simenon was born on February 13, 1903 in Liège, Belgium. Because of superstition, his birth date was registered as February 12. Simenon’s father was an accountant for an insurance company. Because his father’s ill health, Simenon had to leave his studies to work first as a baker and later as a bookseller. He began his writing career at a local newspaper. This apprenticeship blossomed into Simenon’s first novel when he was only 17.

After becoming part of a group of writers, painters and dilettantes who called themselves La Caque (The Cask), he was married briefly to Règine Renchon, a young artist, but the marriage eventually ended in divorce. They lived for a while on a houseboat, the “Ostrogoth,” and traveled the rivers of France and Holland while Simenon wrote his “pot-boilers.”

Pietr Le Letton by Georges Simenon

Simenon moved to Paris in 1923 and began writing novels and short stories under two dozen pen names. He worked as an office clerk and later became secretary to a wealthy aristocrat, the Marquis de Tracy. Between 1923 and 1933, he wrote 200 books of pulp fiction under several pseudonyms. He then wrote 19 Maigret mysteries from 1931 to 1934. His first Maigret novel was published in 1930; called PIETR-LE-LETTON (1930, The Strange Case of Peter the Lett), the book is supposed to have modeled the character of Maigret on Simenon’s great-grandfather.

The Maigret series is loved by mystery readers all over the world. Reported to have been in excess of 100 stories, a reader can be delighted by each and every one of them. All have been translated into English for those who cannot enjoy them in the original French.

Readers should also examine the extensive information about Maigret on the Internet. Huge followings have catalogued books, magazines, movies and everything imaginable about this fascinating detective.

During the 1930s, Simenon, almost always photographed smoking a pipe, lived in many different houses and cruised the Mediterranean. He traveled to Lapland, Africa and Eastern Europe where he was followed by the secret police in Odessa, a port on the Black Sea. He cruised around the world from 1934 to 1935.

Appointed commissioner for Belgian refugees at La Rochelle in 1939, Maigret spent the war years in France, and continued writing. Nine films of his work were produced during the Nazi occupation.

Denyse Ouimet

In 1945, Simenon moved to Canada and then on to Tucson, Arizona. He met a French-Canadian, Denyse Ouimet, in New York and later married her in 1949. They moved to Connecticut where they lived for five years. During

the 1950s, Simenon wrote novels with American settings.

In 1955, Simenon moved back to Europe and eventually resided in Lausanne, Switzerland. His marriage was failing; he began an affair with Teresa Sburelin, a new servant, who became his devoted companion for the rest of his life. He claimed to have entered into liaisons with thousands of women but this has never been substantiated.

Simenon’s wife, Denyse, entered a psychiatric clinic in 1964. She wrote a book, UN OISEAU POUR LE CHAT (THE BIRD FOR THE CAT), in 1978; in it, she described her bitter memories of their marriage. Their daughter, Marie-Jo, who had been under psychiatric care beginning in 1968, committed suicide in 1978. In 1981, Simenon wrote a book in which he blamed Denyse for their daughter’s death.

In 1952 he was elected as President of the Mystery Writers of America, subsequently receiving the Legion of Honor in New York; he was President of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1960.

Simenon underwent surgery for a brain tumor in 1984 and made a good recovery. In subsequent years however, his health worsened. He gave his last televised interview in December 1988.

Georges Simenon died on September 4, 1989. Several sources relate that he was cremated, according to his wishes, and his ashes were scattered in the yard of his last home in Lausanne.

Deirdre Bair in “The Maigret Machine,” (NY TIMES, August 10, 1997) reported the following, “In the latter years of Georges Simenon’s prolific writing life, when he had already published close to 400 novels, Alfred Hitchcock was said to have telephoned, only to be told by Simenon’s secretary that he couldn’t be disturbed because he had just begun a new novel. Hitchcock, knowing that Simenon was capable of writing one novel — or two or three — every month, replied, ”That’s all right, I’ll wait.”

John Lithgow sporting suspenders

At some point in the life of some older men, a shift occurs. The former rounded derriere becomes flattened and the formerly flat abdomen becomes a rounded tummy. This can occur because of lessened activity due to illness of some variety, a hernia that can happen to the central muscles of a man’s chest, or simply the advent of becoming a “couch potato” for a number of years. It can even happen when someone has indulged in too many trips to the beer keg or drinks cabinet. (Or, as someone has put it, he might have traded one “six pack” set of muscles for too many others in cans or bottles!)

The result of this shift to “no hips” and “more tummy than one wishes” may necessitate moving from the use of a belt to hold up one’s pants to the purchase of suspenders.

Don’t get me wrong. Some men just love to wear suspenders. After all, at certain times in history all gentlemen wore suspenders (called “braces” in British culture).

According to the “suspenders” article on Facebook, the origin of suspenders seems to be an invention in 1822 by Albert Thurston.

Wisegeek.com asserts that suspenders were worn by all men throughout the 1800s following their invention because pants had buttons to which the suspenders were attached. Belts were used on the outside of garments like coats. In 1894, David Roth filed a patent for suspenders with clasps rather than buttons.

Lee Labrada sporting suspenders

Believe it or not, suspenders have gone in and out of fashion throughout the 20th and now 21st centuries. They were most popular in the 1920s, 1960s and 1980s. They have always been basic with men’s white tie formal attire and are extremely popular still with workmen like plumbers, carpenters and farmers. In fact, they are quite necessary for anyone wearing a full tool belt or having heavy pockets full of equipment. (Dear plumbers, are you listening?!?)

In England, most suits require wearing suspenders because of the construction of the pants. They are also sometimes thought to be required by investment bankers, some of whom tell younger members of the firm that one must reach a certain rank in order to even wear them, according to Michael Lewis in his book, Liar’s Poker.

If one wants to be correct in the fashion world, one should never wear a belt and suspenders at the same time. The color of suspenders should not match a garment, but should either reflect or contrast another component such as a tie. Gentlemen should wear only plain colors with a patterned shirt and patterned suspenders go better with a plain shirt and plain or striped tie. Patterns on suspenders should be woven only and not just printed on the material. The leather portions of the suspenders should be either black, brown or white and must match one’s shoes, according to tailoredtestosterone.com; the straps should be 1.25 to 1.5 inches wide.

On line is a manufacturer of pants and jeans made especially for suspenders. Called Sloops Jeans and Casuals, they feature “no unsightly belt loops.” They claim to fit “the physique of the typical suspender wearer—no hips, no rear end and need for more belly room.”

Sources for suspenders are plentiful both in local stores and on the Web. Some of the varieties include solids, stripes, dots, leather, western, animal, fish, outdoors, big and tall men sizes, holiday, work, hobby related and even glitter varieties. One practical category is airport friendly suspenders that feature no metal to set off those pesky alarms.

Suspenders have become quite the fad with young people from time to time. My husband fondly remembers his years in high school when suspenders became the rage. One of his friends managed to find—for party wear only—a set of suspenders featuring nude ladies. All the guys found these quite amusing at the time. (Later the girls in the group managed to trump this, but I can’t reveal just how!)

CNN's Larry King

The use of suspenders in movies and television has brought about fads from time to time also. Think the 2008 remake of Brideshead Revisited, James Bond, 007 (portrayed by Daniel Craig), and Larry King. John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) wore them in the hit TV show Torchwood as did Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who.

Suspenders are not just for men only. They come in sizes for women and kids too—but that’s another whole subject!

If you are–like me–totally incompetent at styling your own hair, you realize that your hairdresser is your best friend. (Hopefully, you rarely need the services of your lawyer except to draw up your will and assist with the purchase of your house so we’ll now proceed to the important area of your hair color!)

At any rate, in the olden days when I was delusional to the point that I believed I could dye my own hair, I actually tried it on several occasions. Born with mousey brown hair, I have had my hair frosted, auburn, blonde and once, mistakenly black!

A number of years ago I was working at a daily newspaper when I dyed my hair light auburn. It was a semi-permanent rinse so had no dire consequences. Feeling much too self-confident, I decided that the color should be just a bit darker and bought a permanent auburn dye. When my hair was once again dry after this 45-minute procedure, I looked into the mirror and screamed, “My hair is black! Aaaaaugh!!”

Indeed, my hair was not a dark brown or gorgeous auburn, as I had falsely envisioned. It was coal black. I looked as if my next assignment should have been to interview a vampire.

Hastily, I called Clairol Hot Line and sobbed that I need help immediately. The super-confident voice on the other end of the phone advised me to purchase a certain color that should fix the problem. I raced to the drugstore and bought the potion.

Guess what! My hair came out even blacker, if possible. By then it was midnight and I had to go to work the next day. No more experiments were possible.

The next day I crept into my office and hoped no one would notice. Of course, the guys in the newsroom could not let this opportunity pass. “Who’s the new girl in Sue’s office?” one shouted. Another answered, “Must be someone from the local witches’ coven.”

The teasing went on throughout the day. (Never mind harassment laws. In those days we’d never heard of them!)

I finally called a local hairdresser who rescued me and admonished me to never, ever dye my own hair again.

Lesson learned, believe me! I was truly traumatized for life.

I have heard of other women who tried to dye their own hair only to have it turn orange or green or even purple!

Ladies, it’s just not worth the risk. Find the best hairdresser you can. Put yourself in her hands and learn how to pray if you didn’t know before. It is possible for hairdressers to have disasters too, you know, but it’s much less likely than if you try on your own.

Not to split hairs, but take it from me. The hair you save may be your own!!

The first thing I would wish for them is that each and every child would have a good breakfast every morning (and adequate food for the entire day, of course!). According to the Child Nutrition Fact Sheet, missing breakfast and experiencing hunger can impair a child’s ability to learn. Quite a number of studies have linked hunger with lessened recall and poor math skills. Regardless of any studies, it just makes common sense that a child who is hungry is not as focused on learning.

Many years ago I taught English in seventh and ninth grades in Chiefland, Florida. During a series of lessons on learning table manners (much needed at the middle school level, sad to say!), I fed a breakfast meal to one of my classes. One of the little boys said, “I’m so glad we get to eat because I’m really hungry. I haven’t had anything to eat all day.” The “breakfast” was being served after 10:30am. It hurt me to know that any child would not have enough food.

Our school system feeds every child who takes TCAP breakfast on those testing days. That in itself is evidence that breakfast is important. For parents who can afford to feed their children in the morning, it is essential that they have something nutritious to eat. For others, free and reduced breakfast and lunch are available. Children must be fed.

Another wish I have for children is that some limit to the number of tests they are given each year is established. As of now, in addition to weekly tests in every academic subject plus physical fitness tests, our students receive frequent standardized testing (like ThinkLink), county-wide assessments in reading and math skills, practice testing for the TCAP Writing Assessment, practice tests for TCAP, the real TCAP Writing Assessment and TCAP tests, etc. Some of these tests last four or five school days.

Our teachers are stretched to the max just to find time to teach the subject matter. Our kids are being tested so frequently that it is amazing that they have time for learning the material they need to know!

What’s the result of our measuring their progress? By the time many students reach fifth grade, I hear them making comments like “Oh, we’re having another test today but I don’t care whether I pass or not.”

For students who struggle, they get the message that they are not hitting the mark so often that they begin to believe they are incapable of learning. That’s a sad state of affairs.

For other students who learn easily and are experts at test taking, they get the idea that they don’t have to work at school. If they are being measured in a system where the lowest grade a student can make is 50 or 60, the more accomplished students think that they know as much as they need to know. When they reach college and get into a class where they have to study hard to pass, they may not have the skills they need—and thus we are having tremendous numbers of scholarship students who either lose their scholarships after the first year or even flunk out of college.

I know that children have to learn how to take tests. Our school systems are more and more based on statistics and “teaching excellence,” but children need to have time to assimilate information also.

Kids are pressured by schools testing them constantly, parents pushing them into sports and other extra curricular activities, and society expecting them to confront sex, drugs and other adult behaviors before they have time to “just be a child.”

What I truly wish for children is that they can experience the joys of childhood while they are children. We can see too many adults in our society who are behaving in child-like ways because they skipped that era of their lives.

Some of the lyrics of an old song called “Inchworm” are “Inchworm, Inchworm, measuring the marigolds. Seems to me you’d stop to see how beautiful they are.”

Let’s let kids have time to stop and enjoy their childhood before it’s too late. We know that a baby’s world revolves about itself. When children have no time to grow out of that illusion, they grow up to be the “Me and Me Only” generation that we’re seeing now.

Comfort Foods (Tim Hawk, NJ.com)

Comfort foods have become a way of life these days. It’s not hard to understand why we need comfort foods. Our lives are full of stress. The crashing economy has scared most intelligent people silly. The thought that what we formerly believed was enough money to live on has now become barely adequate is enough to send anyone running to the ice cream carton or the macaroni and cheese bowl or the potato chip bag.

We seek comfort when we are stressed. We learned as babies that milk was comfort. When we were sick as children, we were comforted by chicken soup or ice cream or whatever Mom’s favorite cookie recipe was. We continued as teens to comfort our growing insecurity about our popularity with cheeseburgers, soft drinks and doughnuts. We entered college and survived on pizzas to overcome exam jitters.

Fare that seems to soothe — generally chock-full of the ever-dreaded carbs or loaded with sugars that translate directly to calories — actually physiologically alter eaters, according to Angela Shaw, registered dietetic technician at Cooper University Hospital. “An increase in serotonin occurs, which results in better mood state,” Shaw said. Low levels of serotonin, a brain neurotransmitter, are associated with depression… Females are born with 57-percent less serotonin that men, Shaw said, making them naturally more prone to cravings. Not to mention that hormone cycles influence women’s hunger swings. – Comfort Foods, NJ.com; Feburary 2007.

Researchers tell us that when we are stressed, we seek certain foods like chocolate to halt the hormonal changes in our bodies. When we are under constant stress, we overdo the behavior and acquire belly fat as a result.

What can we do now that life is becoming a stress-a-minute survival course?

First, we can stop and think before we run for comfort foods. We can make some better choices for our hearts and overall health.

One simple and easy way of comforting yourself when you are totally stressed is to pet your dog or cat. This is scientific fact, is free, and is great for your animal too.

Another way is to exercise. You don’t have to run a mile. You can climb the stairs or walk out to the mailbox or make a circuit of your block or lawn. Just don’t take a hike to the fridge or doughnut shop!

A third course of action is to call a friend and talk a while. Choose, if you must, to commiserate for a couple of minutes on whatever is stressing you, but then go on to a more pleasant subject. You aren’t going to solve the economic problems of the world so try to focus on how you can make someone else’s day more pleasant. When you do, you’ll help reduce your own stress level as well.

Volunteering to help someone in need is another way to keep from focusing on your own problems. You don’t have to look far to see someone else who may be in worse conditions than yours. Visit someone who’s sick, or babysit for a single parent who may need some time for errands without the children, or trim a hedge for an elderly neighbor who may not be able to do it for herself any longer.

With the holidays coming up and temptation on every table or snack area at work, you’ll have to pledge yourself to have just one cookie instead of five or six. You’ll have to make sure you eat a filling low-calorie snack before you go to that party where every food may be pound-packing.

You can do it. Remind yourself that you can’t afford right now to buy an entirely new wardrobe because you’ve overindulged.

Comfort yourself with the thought that you’ve matured enough to curb your impulses—and have saved yourself not only some pounds but big bucks as well. Having a heart attack or stroke from overeating is a costly experience.

Just don’t forget that if hunger isn’t the problem, food isn’t the answer.

First, make every day a learning experience. If appropriate, have your child take classes in summer school or go to vacation Bible school. In addition, everyday activities can teach many things to children.

For instance, when you go to the grocery store, have your child take a hand calculator. Put him in charge of finding out what fruit is the best buy. If oranges in a bag cost $3.99 for three pounds and loose oranges are $1.29 a pound, have him decide which is less expensive and assist in the decision of which to buy. If lettuce is $1.19 a head and a bag of salad greens is $2.50, discuss with your daughter how many salads each might produce and together decide which to buy.

Children should be taught to read the nutrient labels on the sides of foods also so they can compare cholesterol amounts, sodium amounts, etc. With childhood obesity a critical problem in Tennessee, it is never too early to teach children about which foods are more healthful for them.

Kids love to be useful. Run an efficiency test. Play fast music while the child cleans his room. The next day play slower music during the same activity. Have the child write down how long it took on both days and compare notes. Have the child time how long it takes to clean up the dishes after a meal and how long it takes to load the dishwasher. Let the child time how long it takes to empty the garbage and talk about whether delaying this activity makes sense.

Make a chart of chores around the house and offer small amounts of money for each. Let the child keep a record of his earnings and make sure his addition is correct. If his total is incorrect, deduct a quarter for each mistake. Have your daughter keep a record of the money she earns during the summer and have her plan a budget for her spending.

Give children flower pots or a small piece of ground in the garden. Have them keep a record of what seeds cost, what supplies like fertilizer and soil cost, and which seeds grow best. If vegetables are sown, have the child keep a growth chart and a record of what vegetables are produced. Let the child use his own produce in a salad or casserole. Teach your child what symbols like a small “t” for “teaspoon” and a capital “T” for tablespoon” mean in recipes. Teach how many cups per pint, pints per quart, and quarts per gallon. Compare metric measurements with those in the English system.

Reading simple recipes can give the child a lifelong interest in cooking. Reading the newspaper to learn about sales on treats he likes can broaden into reading the comics and articles written for children. Reading about subjects of interest can extend to research on the internet or visits to the library for books on that subject.

Watch together movies like The Secret Garden and then read the book together. Talk about why certain people act the way they do and whether one character is truly evil or not. Discuss the traits of characters you like and how people can learn to incorporate those traits into their own personalities.

Have the child keep a journal of what he does during the summer. If you go on vacation, take along a hand-held tape recorder for her to take notes on daily activities so that they can be added to the journal when you get home.

Encourage your child to write letters to family members or get a pen pal in a foreign country or another state.

Suggest that your child write stories about other children who may have fears about certain things and let the child find ways the character can cope with these fears. (This is especially appropriate for a child leaving elementary school and entering middle school, because most have heard horror stories about being stuffed in trash cans, etc. Dealing with these fears second hand can give insight into discussions you may need to have with your child.)

Summer is a time for relaxation so none of these activities should be approached in a punishment mode. All these learning activities can be fun and can engender a closer relationship between your child and you.

Always emphasize that learning is fun—and make it so!

1. Karen von Blixen-Finecke (Isak Dinesen). “I had a farm in Africa” in the romantic OUT OF AFRICA (first published in 1937) is one of the most memorable first lines in any book I’ve ever read. These six simple words somehow create an atmosphere of intrigue that extends throughout the book. If you have seen the movie and enjoyed it, you will love the book.

2. Alexander McCall Smith. I’ve written in this column before about the books he’s written about a woman detective, Precious Ramotswe, in Botswana. He has a new one, TEA TIME FOR THE TRADITIONALLY BUILT; I haven’t had time to read it yet but am looking forward to it. He has three other series with totally different characters as well. The Isabel Dalhousie series includes five books now beginning with THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB; I suggest you read them (and all his series from the beginning). The 44 SCOTLAND STREET series begins with a book by that title and describes members of a boarding house in Edinburgh and their adventures. The PORTUGUESE IRREGULAR VERB series begins also with a book by that title; it is supposed to describe hilarious adventures of a college professor, the profession that Smith himself follows. I haven’t read this last series yet, but am planning on it soon.

3. Colin Dexter. A college professor who was forced to give up teaching by encroaching deafness, Dexter began writing the Inspector Morse mysteries during a boring rainy day while on vacation in Wales. The 13 Morse novels plus several books of short stories resulted in 33 Morse television shows before the marvelous actor, John Thaw, who portrayed Morse, died of cancer in 2001. A new series involving Lewis, Morse’s sidekick, has begun on PBS’s Mystery series. Read all the books in order and watch as many of the television shows (all are available on DVD) as possible. By the way, Dexter (like Alfred Hitchcock) appears in a cameo appearance in all the television shows.

4. Ruth Rendell. A member of the House of Lords in England, Rendell also writes as Barbara Vine. She is amazingly prolific with at least 22 Chief Inspector Wexford mysteries and more than 40 other novels plus short stories. Having sold her first novel, FROM DOON WITH DEATH, for £75 in 1964, she has won numerous awards for her writing and gives nearly a quarter of a million dollars to charity every year. You can read more about her life on the Web, of course. Her books are written from a psychological perspective rather than with graphic details of the violence perpetrated on a victim.

5. Carolyn Graham. Originally a factory worker, followed by a stint in the Royal Navy, Graham then became an actress, stage manager and freelance radio broadcaster. She began writing full time in 1971. Her mysteries about Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy, first portrayed in THE KILLINGS AT BADGER’S DRIFT (1987), were adapted for television as the “Midsomer Murders” series starring John Nettles. These shows are also available now on DVD.

If any of these authors don’t appeal to you, try Elizabeth George (Scotland Yard’s Inspector Thomas Lynley!), Martha Grimes (mysteries only—her other books are not up to the quality of her mysteries, in my humble opinion), or Sharyn McCrumb (her best are the Appalachian Ballad novels, my all time favorite of which is SHE WALKS THESE HILLS).

Hope you have an adventuresome summer of reading! Personally, I can hardly wait.