THE
BISTRO
Mentor Huebner (c) 1962
Oil on European Painter's Board 22" X 26"
THE BISTRO
BY
The Bistro
in this painting was our favorite hangout in Paris. Whatever
happened to us, good or bad, whether we were tired or energized,
we always had to stop there for coffee first, or we couldn't
make it on to any other activity.
We were in Europe for two years. And we were on location for
the film, "The Longest Day", long enough for us to
have twins and long enough to have been bombed by terrorists
in an open air market.
Mentor, was the only designer on the production, and created
4000 drawings for Darryl Zanuck, Fox Studios and the European
and American Directors. Each of the Allied Forces was represented
by a Director for their segment of the film.
I love to tell everyone, " Mentor designed the Normandy
Invasion".
Prior to the ‘art department’ being sent to Corsica,
where Mentor and the Directors and the rest of the crew lived
for one month on a French aircraft carrier, and before it was
moved to the Boulougne Studios, near our apartment in Saint
Cloud, it had been on the Champs Elise's, squeezed into Darryl
Zanuck's crowded office.
One June afternoon, while the art department was still in Paris,
and we were still in our pre-twin stage, Mentor and I huddled
with our small son on a tiny balcony outside the office's first
floor windows, where we had a fantastic view of the Kennedy
Motorcade.
Our son, excitedly jumped up and down waving a small American
flag, as Mentor and I held our arms high our heads, and shouted,
wildly, “ Yeah Kennedy! Yeah Kennedy! ”
JFK heard us and looked up. Seeing such a pathetic trio, alone
outside an office window, and the only people on the outside
wall of that building, he realized, at once, from our antics,
that we were Americans. President Kennedy made eye contact with
us, laughed and waved back. Jackie didn't.
After the auto parade was over and before the three of us could
take one step out of the block and move on to Napoleon's Tomb,
we stopped at our Bistro for coffee, and were greeted by smiling
'garcons', all nodding and chanting, “Kennedy. Kennedy.
Kennedy.”
I personally, had never before and certainly have never since,
felt as overwhelmingly patriotic as on that day of the Kennedy
Motorcade, and that afternoon as we walked into our favorite
Bistro.
It was rather nice.
12
Paintings 12 Intimate Stories
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