My Lifelong Childhood

A FORK IN THE ROAD "Two roads diverged in a wood and I...I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."                               Robert Frost (1874-1963) I'm sure we've all been in the situation where something in life offers us a choice and we decide on which path to take, and the rest of your life is either enriched or regretted.  There are many forks in the road for all of us, some chosen with careful thought, some more impulsively.  I suppose my decision to go to Belgium is certainly one I've never lamented.  As you remember, in my last post, I wrote about meeting the Steinbergs that cold, rainy night in a fairly empty Henri Premier restaurant, deciding to pull our tables together and share a meal, after which we shared a long and fruitful friendship as well.  Another road taken. Fred Steinberg drove a BMW, at a rather fast pace I might add, and living in a rustic suburb of Brussels, Ohain, he had plenty of opport

NEW FRIENDSHIPS AND PLACES "You're my friend_____What a thing friendship is, world without end!"                                  Robert Browning (1812-1889)      When you're a foreigner, living in a strange place, it is not always so easy to be accepted into homes or friendships.  Such was the case, living in an apartment in Ixelles with some wonderful exceptions. Our neighbors below us were a warm and lovely couple with a great sense of humor.  Unfortunately, Josanne became ill with kidney disease during pregnancy and passed away.  I think it was our first and, fortunately, only Belgian funeral.      One day, I was outside and something in the trash bin outside the butcher shop next door caught my eye.  It was a group of discarded cordial glasses, made from attractive colored glass.  The woman who lived above the shop noticed me looking and I inquired if she had tossed them out and, when she answered affirmatively, I told her I admired them and she quickl