I’ve been thinking about friendship lately. How the people
who come into our lives as children, teenagers, young adults, and not so young adults
shape and enrich our lives. Some come and go; some we meet early and don’t see
often, but always feel connected to; others come into our lives later in life
and we feel an instant affinity with them. I became friends with Linda Hampton
Smith relatively recently (seven years
ago), not because we were thrust together in a classroom or college dormitory,
or because we faced the challenges of parenting young children together. Strong
friendships are often born of these shared experiences, but as we progress in
life (in other words, grow older), they’re more often born of shared interests.
Linda and I met at les Boulangers, a French conversation
group that used to convene on Saturday mornings at the Bristol Bakery. It still
meets regularly, but has since relocated to Middlebury. This eclectic group
gathers together under the guidance of Simon Barenbaum, a très
gentil Frenchman and retired French professor who entertains us all with
stories from past adventures and shows ample patience with our flawed French.
