One of the things that glues you to the people of your nation is shared childhood experience. It’s always an odd moment for me when I remember again that I do not have the same childhood tropes as most of my close friends. Some countries are more insular than others and the French have been careful to cultivate their own pop culture. Let’s examine this familiar image of the affable, foolish nanny. Not only did I adore this character, I had a large doll version of Becassine th

My maternal great aunt Hermine is a spitfire who has always amazed the family with her abundant energy and stubborn streak. She is tiny. Here she is in her teenage years, a sweet slip of a girl, looking smaller than even her father, the jockey. But as is often the case with people, looks are deceiving. This is a woman of great strength and force of character. [1930s Chateau Egurande, France. Hermine & Hector.] You’ll also notice her natural grace and elegance. It’s hardly sur

The paternal grandfather and his family owned a factory outside of Paris and he and his siblings traveled the world selling their products — glue. I have access to a series of their travel photos taken around France in 1911-1917. Most of the locations have been labeled with a fountain pen. The one under the latticework of iron might well be the Eiffel Tower. The final photo with “Paulin” (my paternal great uncle) on the left and his mother “la Patronne” (my paternal great-gra

Gothic horror, film noire, and melodrama will frequently feature a scene with a spooky portrait. Here are a few examples off the top of my head: The House on Telegraph Hill Dark Shadows The only thing I find odd is that they have so few paintings. Our homes were showcases for maternal grandmother, Helene’s, artwork. Here she is learning her craft in France in the 1930s & ’40s. As a result we have dozens of paintings of my mother documenting every stage of her life. ARE YOU FE

Many nations have rules around how much broadcast television must be in the native language. This was of particular concern in France during the popularizing of television as their airwaves were inundated with English-speaking programs. The way around the problem of expensive production is to do a doublage, that is, a voice over work in the native language that loosely matches the lip movements of the original show. My father, known as Daniel Crouet, started out as an actor a

My mother and her parents were the first members of my family to immigrate to the new world, and they did it with their usual glamor. Aboard the ship. Her new step father moves my nine-year old mother and his new wife to America from southern France. The first people in my family to hit the new world. New York City, 1953. Roger the engineer’s love of gadgets is the reason I have so many wonderful photos to share with the world. #HélèneLasserre #HélèneBaronnie #vintagephotogra

My grandmother, Helene, in a studio-style portrait with the family dog. In the time before Owen Mills and malls, we still found a way to torture our adorable children. This was taken around 1923, I believe. My grandmother had me pose in a similar fashion so she could paint our portrait. I remember this day in my Paris apartment clearly. As I worked as her model I could see her rising frustration in trying to keep us all still long enough to lay down a charcoal outline and sna

These people. They make even the hideous fashions of the late 60s look chic. Maria Baroni & Helene Lasserre 1970 Verdon, France. Helene Lasserre, Elise Lasserre, Hermine Viremouneix, Jean-Marc Devaure, Yves Devaure, Verdon, France. Hermine Viremouneix, Michel Viremouneix, Yves Devaure, Helene Lasserre,  Verdon, France. #HélèneLasserre #vintagephotographs #HermineViremouneix #Verdon #JeanMarcDevaure #YvesDevaure #MichelViremouneix #EliseLasserre #France #MariaBaroni #beach #vi

My people, going way back, must be a seafaring people. I want to discover pirates in my family tree. No, I probably won’t. I’ve always lived by the ocean and when I travel to a place far from the salty sea breezes I feel a pervasive sense of claustrophobia. Put me on a sailboat if you want to see me happy. Maternal grandmother Helene made many paintings of the seaside towns they visited or lived in during her world travels with her second husband. Every summer was spent at t

Governor’s Island, New York City hosted a vintage French carnival this summer. I rode a  Vélocipèdes and took in the sights and sounds whilst considering that these rides existed in 1900s Paris and may have well played host to my grandfather and his siblings. Fête Paradiso – 1900s garb Did these re-enactment types capture the style if the period? I think they might be dressed in too much white. Chardin family holiday snap in France in 1909. Not a lot of white clothing. Vintag

The French have developed a friendly sort of relationship with fleas. Of the many creatures that historically live around humans, the French seem to have a particular fondness for fleas. I had an adored mouse toy when I was a child that I named “flea”; it is not aberrant for a French child to name their toy thus. My toy was a white mouse like this: His name was puce. Oh, hey! Did you notice there’s a color in English spelled the same way? Indeed. The French named that color b

My great-grandfather, Hector Lasserre, on the left with my grandmother, Hélène, in the 1930s. Libourne, France. Here is a sketch she made of him around this time period: #HélèneLasserre #HectorLasserre #vintagephotographs #1930s #painter #sketch #France

When we first decided to have kids, I knew I needed a super lightweight stroller because I’d be hauling that sucker up and down subway stairs with the baby in situ. I opted for the Maclaren “volo” because it was the cheapest fancy stroller you could get and it weighed only a few pounds. It cost me $112 and I thought that was a lot of money, but it had nice handling and looked sturdy. Although there are fancier strollers available, they cost a fortune and they’re heavy. Here I

Great aunt Marthe and the thoroughly modern controversy As part of the research for my memoir I’ve been in contact with family members who are helping me piece together the family tree. At one point in 2001, my sisters and I spoke with our paternal uncle and he explained the details on his side of the family. He told us about various family members including our grandfather’s three siblings. More recently, I received the photos and it was nice to put a face to the names. [My

My maternal great-grandfather had many hobbies. One of the things he was known for was his horsemanship skills. Hector Lasserre was a small man even for his time and he did well for himself as a gentleman jockey. [Hector on the left with his father Ernest on the right, France c. 1920s] Hector and Ernest were part of the French cavalry and trained at the elite Saumur school. Hector is here below in his cavalry uniform. His children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren

Maternal grandmother Hélène was often enlisted to do the portraits of performers over her long career. Here’s one she did of the French mezzo, Jane Berbié. I love how my grandmother captures the spirit of a person in that single look. From this portrait, doesn’t Berbié seem like a fun person to sit with at a dinner party? Related to my earlier post about La Perichole you can see Berbié singing a piece from that show: #painting #Berbié #portrait #LaPerichole #JaneBerbié #Paris

In the south of France, the Rroma people were seasonal workers hired every autumn to pick the grapes for the vineyards. My family’s wine-making was only a dabble but it happens to be in the world’s most fertile viniculture land near Saint-Émilion, France. My birth town of Libourne is close to famous wine labels, such as Chateau Petrus. I think the region started wine making in Roman times and never lost the habit for it. As a result, I’ve had a taste of some of the most expen

Even at the airport, my mom and I were fancy. #vintagephotographs #fancy #sunglasses #MothersDay #matching #airport #France #MariaBaroni #vintagephotos

I’m writing my memoirs and hoping to finish them by the end of the year. The memoirs are a different product than this novel I finished a while back. Don’t worry, I’m not holding back on you guys. I want to do a re-write on that iconoclastic book before I make it available for download. I hope to have that novel ready for the public by mid-year. Meanwhile, I’m plugging away on the memoir and sifting through thousands and thousands of family photos, audio files, and home movie