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Introduction:

The famous novel by Saint-Ex – a children’s book written in French – is about a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. The Little Prince makes observations about life and human nature. The book is said to have many layers of life lessons locked into an unusual story. Several people have commented that the lessons they have learned from the book have impacted their lives.

After writing a recent article on the famous novels Moby Dick (Herman Melville) and Macbeth (Shakespeare); I was having a very healthy smoothie in the morning with my wife – and I must mention researching Indian Food benefits for brain health – we had some exciting discussions around challenges as we get older. Part of the debate is the challenging position a newly elected president places himself or herself is – for example, Joe Biden of the US (78 years young). In this context of retirement and the activities in nursing homes, it sparked a lively debate. I will use the exciting novel, The Little Prince, By Antoine, which includes just so much creativity. He has been adventurous – flying aeroplanes. It seems like his novel’s inspiration comes after he crashes in the Sahara Desert while endeavouring to set a new world record for the fastest time from Paris to Saigon. It is believed that the catastrophic event inspired him to write the novel.

‘On 30 December 1935, at 2:45 am, after 19 hours and 44 minutes in the air, Saint-Exupéry, along with his mechanic-navigator André Prévot, crashed in the Libyan desert, during an attempt to break the speed record in a Paris-to-Saigon air race and win a prize of 150,000 francs.’

From my sketchbook: Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as de Saint-Exupéry (French). 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944. Antoine was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. 

What makes his life story and even more intriguing is that he disappeared while flying over the ocean. It was believed that had died while on a reconnaissance mission from Corsica over the Mediterranean on 31 July 1944.

Miraculously, the engraved bracelet of Antoine was found in a fishing net decades later. The discovery of the bracelet led divers to the crash site. Eventually, the broken-up plane was discovered, and parts of the aircraft ended up on display in a French museum. Read the engraving on the bracelet in the image.