Changing the World in Burgundy

The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear
The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It's simple and it's plain
Why should I complain.

 –from The Winner Takes it All, by ABBA

What does ABBA have in common with changing the world?  Read on, because I must tell you about an extraordinary New Year's eve party that we had the good fortune to attend, which reminded us yet again why we like living in Burgundy.

Seated at the table by the fire in a beautifully renovated stone barn were our charming hosts: Gerard, who is Swiss and is responsible for the reform process of the Council of Europe, and his wife Elisabeth, Secretary General of a large humanitarian organization in Oslo.  Guests included a former Norwegian diplomat to the Ivory Coast, a Russian working for Unicef and on her doctorate, a surgeon with a clinic in Burkina Fasco, and an aspiring lawyer hopefully headed for a job at the UN.  Plus a soon-to-be celebrity: a well-known human rights worker named Madeline Rees who works to stop human trafficking. You may soon hear about her, as they are making a Hollywood movie about her cause and partially about her work, to be released in the states in August.  Madeline will be played by Vanessa Redgrave.

Passions for causes run strong in this group.  Elisabeth told me, “I just love to go to work every day.  I can see the changes we make, the progress.  I’m so excited by it”.  Some days when she goes to work, there are a few million new refugees who will need emergency shelter, food, and services. 

Madeline is still reeling from the fact that they are making a motion picture about the cause she is fighting for, and telling the sad, brutal stories of the women she struggles to protect.   The movie is called The Whistle Blower, and she has seen it.  I asked her how difficult it would be to watch.  “At the screening, one woman sat and sobbed after it was over,” she told me.  These are stories that must be told, people we cannot ignore.

I must tell you we were a bit out of our league with this global group.  OK, maybe a lot.  But here we are in rural Burgundy–would anyone expect to find such a fascinating group gathered together, all with homes or week-end retreats within a few miles of where we live?  It’s one of the joys and surprises of living here.

My work has always been in the realm of  offering up  pleasant distractions from the business of life.  These amazing people have taken on the job of confronting the pain and the cruelty of the human condition on a daily basis.  I salute their dedication and tenacity, their courage to face the unimaginable.

But even in this elegant and sophisticated group of career world-changers, pleasant distractions are still necessary.  A feisty 4-year-old named Sasha took care of that.  And, in the course of the evening, the dog ate the enitre first course while we sipped our pre-dinner champagne, Sasha passed around her red Lady Gaga wig, and we all ended up dancing to ABBA in the wee hours of the morning.  And maybe, this year, the world will be a little bit better place.

 “…you and I know                                                                                                How the heartaches come and they go                                                                  And the scars they're leaving

You'll be dancing once again and the pain will end
You will have no time for grieving.”

 –  from Chiquitita, by ABBA

In the Comments this past week:  a big welcome to Emily; Patricia elaborates on the wonderful Italian pork sandwich; RaeDi has Spoleto Festival memories, and Jane and Mickey have been to Willie's.  Genie at Paris and Beyond has a galette recipe she can make with her eyes closed. And Cindy, soon we'll be blogging on how the French stay thin!