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   From: acoustic@panix.com   
      
   UN PETIT CADEAU   
      
   Macron gifted Trump a bare, dead-looking tree --- and the first lady   
   loves it   
      
   Gone are the days when France would splurge on gifts for its old ally   
   America, and ship the Statue of Liberty across the Atlantic as a grand   
   gesture of friendship. Emmanuel Macron, who accompanied by his wife   
   Brigitte arrived in Washington, DC, today (Apr. 23) to visit Donald   
   Trump and his wife Melania, brought a much simpler cadeau: An oak   
   sapling.   
      
   Kind of like that time in 1912 when Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki gave   
   Washington, DC, 3,000 cherry trees - except this time it's only one   
   tree, and there's a spindly one at that.   
      
   The tree was actually a thoughtful present: It came from Belleau Wood,   
   northeast of Paris, the site of a 1918 World War I battle. Macron must   
   know that Trump loves World War I - Trump's favorite book, after all,   
   is All Quiet on The Western Front.   
      
   The tree may not look as impressive as the history it embodies, but it   
   certainly delivered one excellent photo op:   
      
   First of all: The tree is tiny - a sapling. There is no chance   
   whatsoever that this tree was around the battlefield 100 years   
   ago. This is at best the great-great-great-grandsapling of a tree that   
   was minding its own business somewhere in France during World War I,   
   and whose pollen eventually reached Belleau Wood, generating a baby   
   tree which the president of France abducted to impress his American   
   World-War-I-loving friend.   
      
   Not only is it tiny, but it looks, well, dead. Thankfully, it's not,   
   because the diplomatic connotations of gifting a dead tree sound   
   frightening. Though remarkably bare, upon closer inspection the tree's   
   branches show buds, so hopefully there will be some leaves soon - that   
   is, unless Macron and Trump mess it up with whatever it is they are   
   doing with those shovels.   
      
   It's unclear whether either man has tried to plant a tree before, but   
   neither looks particularly at ease doing so, in their suits and coats,   
   despite Macron's valid attempt at vigorously embracing the shovel. In   
   all fairness, it would be hard for anyone to look comfortable while   
   planting a pre-planted tree in the middle of the White House's lawn -   
   all while turning their backs on a faraway crowd, a gathering of press   
   photographers under (and on top of) a large tree, and an Air Force   
   helicopter, for good measure.   
      
   And let's not forget: Trump is a proud germaphobe - so he actually   
   makes it look a lot more comfortable than it must have been. He must   
   have liked the present.   
      
   The first lady looked pleased, too. Melania Trump is gracefully   
   standing there, with her heels on the lawn like it's no superhuman   
   balance trick. Her appearance is transformed by the contentment. There   
   is a serene calm to her expression, and she doesn't look like she is   
   posing, but rather enjoying a moment with what must be her favorite   
   type of plants, if her scary Christmas decorations taught us anything:   
   Bare, dead-looking ones.   
      
   Skilled or otherwise, the two presidents actually did plant the   
   tree. They were visibly pleased with it, and stood by for more photos.   
   (It looks pretty terrible.)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)