Old Friends

Today, I met two old friends for lunch at the Blue Chair -- Jane and Cecil Jones, my former major professor at Vanderbilt and his wife. They live in Nashville, where I visit them on occasion. They were here for a memorial service of the wife of a former colleague. They treated me and one of my colleagues, here today for a work session about freshman English, to lunch and some laughter. They are delightful people: Cecil a bit formal and actor-ish and Jane, warm and welcoming, whose favorite word is "Honey" directed at a person. They told us that their beloved cat of 20 years, Blanche, died just before Christmas, but almost immediately afterwards four feral strays took up with them. All four cats have been neutered and treated to required shots. Several have taken walk-throughs of the house, but none has decided to become a house cat.

Only Cecil and Jane would have gone to the expense and trouble they have undertaken for these animals, and only Jane and Cecil would have done such a remarkable job of maintaining relationships with their former students over such a long time (in my case almost 43 years and counting).

Other than my siblings and one childhood friend, they may well have known me longer than anyone else I know.