OCCASIONALLY, we run something in our pages that really stirs the readers. The simmering debate over open space, for example, or any story whatsoever on cute animals such as puppies (see page 1).
Usually, though, I’m never able to guess what the big issue will be. And so it was with the latest lightning rod, an unfortunate bit of botched French in a dining review which ran last month.
“This one is more complex,” wrote our critic, Elaine Rowland, referring to a restaurant’s appetizer, “blending a mild olive oil with a splash of balsamic, a dab of crushed garlic, and a blend of herby bits that add just the right je ne c’est qua (which is French for ‘I don’t know what all is in it’).”
That’s when I learned one of the most important lessons in journalism: Don’t mess with French.
Now, we all knew Elaine’s translation was a joke – that much was clear. But the horrible spelling, I think, threw everyone off. As one reader, Elaine Sang, put it in an e-mail I received a few days ago, “I was surprised to see an egregious misspelling of the French phrase ‘Je ne sais quoi’ — meaning ‘I don’t know what’ in English.” Sang went on to note that “1) je ne c’est is completely incorrect grammar that you would never see and 2) qua is not even a French word,” and concluded that writers and editors ought to double-check their French, “especially when they have such a multi-cultural audience of readers in this area.”
Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson. And so has poor Elaine, who continues to be a superb (and very funny) restaurant critic despite her recent fallen standing with the Francophiles. In fact, her latest review, of Zucca Ristorante on Castro Street, is on page 18. I feel I must warn you: She takes a stab at translating the Italian word “zucca.” Please go easy on us.
THE FAULTY FRENCH could have been avoided with some help from Monique Kane, but she was certainly busy doing the important work of running the Community Health Awareness Council, or CHAC. On Tuesday, Kane was honored with the Athena Award – which designates her as Outstanding Woman of the Year in the Mountain View Business Community – in part due to her excellent work at CHAC.
Kane has an interesting past. Of French origin, she was born in Rhode Island while her mother was visiting family. She returned to France, but fled the Nazis with her mother soon after, and managed to ride back to the East Coast on the last civilian ship leaving France for the U.S. (The escape was a harrowing one, including a scrape with a U-boat on the high seas.)
Kane came to California in the late 1960s, eventually winding up at CHAC in 1986. Twenty years later (to make a long story short) she is executive director of that organization, overseeing a budget of nearly $2 million and helping the lives of less fortunate Mountain View residents every day.
Pretty much everybody who’s anybody showed up for the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored luncheon, including council member Matt Neely, and most of the Voice’s staff. (I couldn’t go, as I was occupied with the paper you’re reading.)
Congratulations, Ms. Kane. May your next 20 years at CHAC be every bit as fruitful.
Don Frances is editor of the Mountain View Voice. He can be reached at dfrances@mv-voice.com.
