soft and powerful and as moist as ever

The subject line is from Fleur Adcock's "Kissing," which begins, "The young are walking on the riverbank," which immediately had me thinking about Paris in May 2009, where there were some lovely strolls along the Seine.

Even so, 2009 was a crucible of a year. When things get stupid intense these days, I sometimes think back to 2009, and then I say, "Ha! 2015, I am armed. I have survived gnarlier years than you!"

Among other things, 2009 was when I hauled two laptops with me around the Czech Republic and France and sucked down litres of soda while whaling through work that couldn't wait:





But I made time for some sightseeing anyway. These shirts in the window of a Strasbourg kiddie clothing shop window reminded me of the tentacle crowd:



And now, like then, there will be doting on doggies: