Tales of Tenth Grade

Yup. The blue dudes (plus Smurfette) who live in mushroom houses deep in the forest and battle the evil wizard Gargamel and his cat Azrael. (I think we should all take a moment to appreciate Gargamel.) Recently, as I'm sure you are aware, the coronavirus has taken hold of our lives. The fear of COVID-19 has spread (pun intended) world-wide, and much of Europe is living with anxiety. But would one small town give up on their dream of winning the Guinness World Record title for "Most People Dressed As Smurfs" because of a viral respiratory disease?  Of course not!  The people of Landerneau, France, were determined to enjoy life, to "not stop living," as Mayor Patrick Leclerc explained. Well, that and to beat Lauchrigen, Germany's impressive record of 2,762 people wearing smurf costumes. So, despite the 1,000 French people infected, the 16 French people killed, and French President Macron's warning to limit contact with the elderly and avoi...

          As of last Friday on October 25th, it's been reported that the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique contains pesticide. According to Laurence Peter of BBC News, chlordecone, a pesticide linked to cancer has been sprayed on banana crops on the two islands for two decades. As of a result, all nearly all adult local residents contain traces of chlordecone inside their blood.          The French do know of this issue as their President, Emmanuel Macron called it an "environmental scandal." Macron also stated that the state "must take responsibility. In addition, the French parliament has set up a public inquiry that will report its findings this upcoming December.           On the islands, both the soil, the rivers, and the coastal waters have large tracts that are contaminated with the chlordecone. Authorities want to keep it out of the food chain, however, most produce comes from smal...