Do you ever make it to a stage in your life where you realize that everything is interconnected? You know what, I’ve been invited to the welcome party, and it’s time to celebrate…
“You just can’t make this shit up !”
“I find myself saying that multiple times a day here, since I arrived to Bucerias from Canada September 4th.
But it’s so true, so let’s enjoy it!”
Thanks @intothewild for everything, but mostly importantly, for being a generous human being and introducing me to “Hive” …
Hello !!! I chose ‘@mevoila’ as my avatar name, and for those that speak French you will get it, ‘here I am’...ok so what’s the big deal?!
Well, I shouldn’t be alive, but yet, here I am..
(read on till the end if you want to find out why!)
This story developed over half a century ago in a small French village of only 400 people, mainly farmers, just outside of Grenoble in the beautiful French alps.
It was not until my teenage years, growing up in Canada, that I discovered my true heritage and the origin of why I always felt a little unique, not really fitting in like everyone else.
Something was different, but it took me a while to figure it out.
When my mother was barely 17, she left France for a year as an exchange student to Bradley University in Peoria Illinois. During that year she discovered many new adventures, and I think it was her first time in the USA, ‘the land of the free’.
At least that was the perception for young europeans at the time.
Peoria was home to one of the first French settlements, and one of the largest manufacturing centres in the country, especially for new start ups. It was known to be said that “if it doesn’t fly in Peoria, it will never fly anywhere”. This place was a treasure trove for new energy. It was home to large manufacturing companies that tried everything to make a go.
The largest employer at the time was Caterpillar, and they were at the forefront of promoting black men into managerial positions. One of those man was a 6 foot 4, pearly teethed, handsome, and dominating figure who always had a generous smile but also knew how to chat to the ladies.
You guessed it, during one of my mother’s outings, on the wrong side of town, she met Jim.
Despite her billeting parents disapproval, she would sneak out to sports events with Jim and discovered the black side of town, with all of its follies.
She was smitten!
As time past on, her year came to an end, she had to leave Peoria and return to the south of France, where she had grown up.
Unbeknownst to her billet family and her parents back in France, she was pregnant, and now, was faced with some tough decisions ahead.
First and foremost, as much as she may have loved Jim, he was married! I don’t really know all the details, but I heard she told him that she was going to have an abortion, and “not to worry”! She would take care of this little problem on her own.
I personally don’t know if Jim protested her decision or if maybe he was even relieved of her decision, but that was it!
She was leaving the USA and would never be seeing him again.
So here is this young beautiful white French woman, very confused about her future, returning to the south of France to continue her post secondary education. She planned to be at the University of Aix-en-Provence, a young and vibrant student town where she would follow her studies in economics.
At the young age of 18, she did not show her pregnancy very much, and also didn’t dare bring it up to her parents, who had initially sent her to Peoria in the first place.
As time went on it was more difficult to hide reality, and her parents didn’t understand why she was not communicating very much with them.
She appeared distant and had not been home for a while.
She kept busy at her studies and even met a young Anglo-Saxon white man from Canada who had decided to leave his homeland to follow his dreams of an education. He chose studies in Political Science in Europe. France at the time was experiencing a cultural, social and moral turning point, but education was much more affordable than in north America.
I imagine that she must have confided with him about her experience in Peoria, and the tough decisions she was facing. He was understanding, supportive and admired her strong character and determination. They were both true activist and like minded socialists, ready to fight the systemic problems they faced from an oppressive governmental and geopolitical system. They both loved the natural things in life, freedoms, food, wine and nature, pretty normal for their youth. They met like minded people and gathered to ponder their future as did the free thinking youth of sixties.
Then one crazy day, all hell broke loose, and months of preparations boiled into a massive student uprising, which took place starting May 1 1968. Mayday! Mayday! Lets all revolt against the system!
That’s the day I was born.
Amidst a student revolution, my mother, ‘the activist’, gave birth and dropped me off, or should I say, left me behind with the French child services, named the ‘DDAS’. She joined her fellow student activists to protest against the regime, along with her new Canadian partner, Sinclair.
Side bar - I only recently discovered the truth of my first few months of life from a biography written by mother’s younger brother Frank. I’m presently reading his book during this trip. He sent it to me from France this summer, just in time to receive it days before my flight to Mexico, where I am today.
The first few months of my life were spent within the French system. My name, Ives Jean-Claude, was given to me by the system.
In short, her father was not impressed when he found out about me. He told her that she had to quit university and find a job to take care of me.
I think she chose to send me off, in the hope they would better take care of me than she could.
As time passed, her mother Charlotte, a very eccentric, vibrant, full of character French woman, decided that she had seen enough. She couldn’t stand that her grandchild was spending his very first few months alone, so she came to Aix and saved me from the system, and brought me home to the French Riviera.
She would have none of it! Student uprising, political mayhem, none of it made sense to her and despite almost ruining her marriage, she made the right decision from her heart, at an age when she wasn’t looking forward to raising a fourth child.
This is when I received my new name, Benjamin.
I’ve grown to love my name but realized, when I was a teenager in Canada, that Yves Jean-Claude was my legal name. Benjamin was purely added after the fact, and my mother never officially changed it. In France, it’s almost impossible to change names once you have been registered.
There you have it, I was brought back to my family, and my mother had to take responsibility for her actions. She continued her studies in economics but decided to move to Grenoble, with Sinclair, to start our new life.
Stay tuned for Chapter two - Bracing for impact! How I grew up in the basement of a hotel restaurant, why I love flying, travelling, photography, crypto, people, wine and of course….the plane crash!
True tales of my air disasters, the many countries I have visited, and why I’m still travelling the world with my wife and soul mate. Two amazing young men, Jonah and Calijah,who we raised in a small town called Sooke, and why I miss my dog Kobe so much.
Hive-on and ‘Salut’ to my new blockchain family!
Celebrating all lives, past and present! #gratitude
Wow what a start to life you have had and what a very colorful one you have led. I look forward to reading what you share next with us. Welcome to the Hive community @mevoila and thanks @intothewild for introducing you. You certainly know how to tell a good story and that is to be celebrated on here xxxxxx
You took me back in time yet my mother must have been only an year then. What a rivetting tale and a solid entry into the Hive. Please feel at home here... 💫
Following for part two :D
Thank you @tezmel, it is always nice to time travel together. Have a great weekend
Welcome to Hive and wow, you are really good, your writing is so intriguing ...the only thing I can do is hit the follow button 😊 Cannot wait for chapter 2!
Welcome mevoila! If you love travel check out @travelfeed / TravelFeed.io :)
Well darn, you left me hanging there! No choice but to follow you for the next installment. 🤣
What a fabulous introduction. Welcome to Hive, I hope you stick around and bring us more.
You rock it, thanks for the comment! I was fortunate enough to visit Australia on a home exchange a few years ago. Love it, spent New Years in Sidney, watching the first fireworks off the bridge and stayed in the Blue Mountains. Can hardly wait to go back.
Stay tuned for chapter 2
I rarely leave South Australia, so I've never been there myself. My mum took my daughter over a few years ago, though.
Thanks for sharing @minismallholding!
Thanks for this comment. For some reason I didn't get the notification for mevoila's reply, so I'd have missed it if I hadn't checked on this.
Well, I'm totally hooked on your life! My son was born on May Day too, and I have a story, but not that dramatic! I'm definitely following to read more. Welcome to HIVE!
Thank you very much for the welcome @riverflows I look forward to your stories as well.
Salut and welcome to Hive! Great opener and a cliff-hanger to end with...that's dirty!!
Best wishes fella, have a great weekend :-)
Thanks @nathen007, keep those multi emotional memes coming. 😉 I travelled all through Thailand two years ago and loved it. Are you living in Bangkok now?
Yes, I live on the outskirts but the wife's from Samui so we will be making the move down there full-time next year to be nearer her increasingly elderly parents...I must be have been a right wanker in my previous life....
F'ing stellar—iheart this behavior. I asked Austin to keep me posted when you said hello, I'm glad he did. What he did not tell me however is the two of you look like father/son and whoever says otherwise can't be trusted!
Welcome to the Block Ben Benjamin lost found wanderer Van Daam Cousteau or whoever you are today. 👊🏼
I hope to meet Austin’s dad as well just to confirm that “you just can’t make this shit up!” @intothewild
Mon pote @dandays m'a forcé à lire ton histoire haha 😁 tu es probablement la meilleur chose qui est sorti de May 68!
Content de t'avoir avec nous 😄
Merci et c’est vrai « #youjustcantmakethisshitup
Comment dis-ton ça ?
Je suis arrivé à Barra 😏
Welcome mevoila!
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Hello @mevoila! This is @traciyork from the @ocd (Original Content Decentralized) curation team. We noticed you shared your first post here on Hive and introduced yourself to the community - congratulations and welcome! And what an introduction it is - I'm definitely looking forward to Chapter Two!
Speaking of community, we have many different ones here on the blockchain, devoted to all kinds of interests. Here's a link so you can check them all out - Hive Communities. Based on your post, I'm thinking you might enjy these to start off with -
Photography Lovers Community
Haveyoubeenhere Community
LeoFinance
Also, as Hive can sometimes be quite confusing, the newly launched Newbies Guide is a growing repository of useful and easy to understand posts about how the Hive ecosystem works.
Please be aware that Hive is a bit different from other social media platforms since you are monetizing your blog, so it is important not to include content that you don't own without sources (and it shouldn't exceed 50% of the post). For more information, check this post - Why and How People Abuse and Plagiarise by hivewatchers.
If you have questions, feel free to hop into the OCD Discord server and we'll do our best to answer them, and again welcome to Hive! Oh, and hurry up with Chapter Two...lol!
Thanks @lovesniper, those are great community suggestions and appreciate the tips and guidance you shared. Looking forward to exploring and contributing.
Have a great weekend. #hive-on
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