Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Une Amie pour tous les Jours

                                 

They had nothing to say to each other, yet they chatted endlessly.

They wore the same hair-do,

-shopped at the same shops,

-shared advice on how to get their men to open-up,

-interrupted each other with snippets of gossip, about the lady at their children’s school, who wore her blouse one button two many undone!

-They wondered if the weather would raise havoc with their petunias…their words never went deeper than that…

Bonjour Madame! Ca va?

Oui, Bonjour Madame! Tout va très bien, merci! Et vous?

It doesn’t have to be deep to be real…

photo: 19th century vintage French wallpaper hanging out alongside of me.

Comments

35 responses to “Une Amie pour tous les Jours”

  1. ParisBreakfasts

    My conversations lead me to the telephone..Hey talking about nothing can be fun for some
    Bonjour Madame!

    Reply
  2. blackbird

    – it does and it doesn’t.

    Reply
  3. patpaulk

    Interesting question for so early in the morning. Keeps things safe I guess.

    Reply
  4. Penny

    But isn’t it better when it is deep? One of the sadnesses of modern life is that so much is superficial and our souls are so rarely revealed to each other.

    Reply
  5. Shannon

    This is the perfect post to start my day 🙂
    Sitting here reading your fun post, and sipping a good cup of coffee. All I need is my good friend to chat me up across the table 🙂
    Soon enough 🙂

    Reply
  6. wishes heros

    It can be just the pleasure of being with someone you love!

    Reply
  7. Ulla

    Sometimes its better to keep a distance (not so deep) other times we want to see through the person and know everything. Life is full of dichotomies…

    Reply
  8. teresa atkinson

    Corey – i meet so many people in my work. and sometimes the conversation is only about the necessary things. Every now and then your soul dances and you “know” the superficial will slowly dissolve and the real friendship will begin.
    Thank you for a beautiful post. Again

    Reply
  9. susan@artstream

    ah the french version of “how ya doin’” sigh, this one always perplexes me. and i think i spelled that wrong.

    Reply
  10. jos

    You have such an imagination! I love this post 🙂

    Reply
  11. Annabelle

    It all depends!
    xo Annabelle

    Reply
  12. Lisa

    Fun! Funny, sometimes we describe the intimacy of our friendships by how deep our conversations can be and at other times by how we can so happily talk of nothing.
    We are relative people, aren’t we? 🙂

    Reply
  13. Sheila

    No, it doesn’t have to be deep to be real. Sometimes just a ‘Good Morning’ as you pass a stranger on the street is enough to bring a smile to someone’s face.I find most North Americans so staid, whereas in Europe a greeting on the street is common courtesy.

    Reply
  14. DebR

    I love this imaginary journey into what might have been and bet it’s very much like someone’s used-to-be.

    Reply
  15. susan

    corey,
    I love your imagination!

    Reply
  16. sandra

    How true. I meet a friend this morning for coffee and we share alot about life, children, sewing, friends, sports and silipada. How wonderful it is to be alive.

    Reply
  17. Star

    Is is narcissistic (it took me three times to type that correctly!) to admire someone with such an imagination when it is a trait you like in yourself? I love the things you see in all that surrounds you–and I love that you share it with us.
    Wishing you happy weekend adventures 🙂

    Reply
  18. Amber

    It is just connection. Easy and lite connection can be lovely!
    🙂

    Reply
  19. constance

    You have a wonderfully creative way of looking things. Even wallpaper! The little ladies with the “Do’s” tell us: Acquaintances are important too.

    Reply
  20. cruststation

    You have wonderful taste in decor madame! That wallpaper is full of life, they are rarely featured with kids yet the daily surroundings and your imagination is endearing ‘how to get their men to open-up’ indeed!

    Reply
  21. snowsparkle

    i love the word “petunia” … it conjures up an image of pungent, floppy, velvety petals and warm earth. this is such a delightful interlude you share with us here.
    hmmm…. and that interesting woman with the buttons… i think i’d like her. 😉

    Reply
  22. snowsparkle

    i love the word “petunia” … it conjures up an image of pungent, floppy, velvety petals and warm earth. this is such a delightful interlude you share with us here.
    hmmm…. and that interesting woman with the buttons… i think i’d like her. 😉

    Reply
  23. Linda

    My husband always wonders what I spend so long talking about with my women friends. Really, it is nothing and, yet, it is everything–what makes women women.

    Reply
  24. la vie en rose

    i love how they’re able to tune out the little boy…true mommies…

    Reply
  25. pinar

    not for me.. I have to open up my soul.. if no.. no relation..

    Reply
  26. Catalina

    very important! to talk to others, even having nothing to say….it is like saying: I am interested in you!

    Reply
  27. ally bean

    “It doesn’t have to be deep to be real…”
    Good thought. So true and so easily forgotten.

    Reply
  28. roger

    ‘Twas ever thus!

    Reply
  29. Nancy, aka Bookfool

    I love that: “It doesn’t have to be deep to be real.” So true. And, you bring to mind the fact that people are still much the same, regardless of the time period. Lovely. 🙂

    Reply
  30. herhimnbryn

    Walking the hound, herhimnbryn meets many others enjoying the walk with their hounds.
    “G’day, enough rain for you?”
    “What a handsome dog”.
    ” Isn’t this rain great?”
    ” You’re up and about early”.
    ” Hallo, how are you?”
    If I don’t see one or two of them, I miss them.

    Reply
  31. Colette

    Ah. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
    There’s something comforting about that.

    Reply
  32. mary ann

    it’s all about making a connection, however, slight…
    hi corey, sorry i haven’t been stopping by regularly…life has been hectic in my corner of the world…but i didn’t want another day go by without saying “hello” & let you know that i’m thinking of you here in cheeseland!
    your absentee-friend,
    mary ann xo

    Reply
  33. Elaine

    Ah, Corey, it is an art, this conversation of life. It is a ritual of sorts. I have a small cafe’ and each day my neighbors pop in the door to check the smells of breads and pastries and fresh ground coffee drinks. Cafe au lait, all be it American style I’m sure, and a pastry, bites of food with bites of conversation and life. It needn’t be a meal we share, sometimes a bite of life is enough to enliven our day.

    Reply
  34. Nel

    sometimes the simplest of words said with an honest smile can lighten the heart. thank you…Nel

    Reply
  35. Jeanne

    So sweet.
    Love is all you need.
    Love Jeanne ^j^

    Reply

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