In his studio beside the garden where these American tourists yadder, Cezanne - the father of modern art and one of my own spiritual fathers - painted his still lifes and bathers. For me it was a pilgrimage, and my mind was full of thoughts old and new, with Cezanne as a focus. But this little troupe could think only of home: 9/11, the impending Iraq war, mid-terms, malls, movies and lost American souls of their acquaintance. These were not, to me, irritating tourists, but crucibles of their nation's history and character, good and ill, and therefore fascinating. The gent with the camera has images inside the camera of his wife standing in front of 36 different buldings - one for each year of their marriage. When she sees them back home they will encourage her to lose weight. The couple in the rear have not been married half so long, and maybe won't be. She feels she is in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and yet like every other place it is full of his yadder.

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