De Retour!!

After a week in France, I'm thinking in French! So I'm back from a wonderful whirlwind holiday -- and back at my computer, sipping green tea and gearing up for a day of writing.

I wasin France with my friend Janet, whom I met on my first day as a student at Marianopolis College here in Montreal (that's the college where I now teach). In addition to being a terrific traveler and liking all the same things as me, Janet is wise. I jotted down one of the wise things she said. We were walking past the Louvre and the Triumphal Arch, when Janet said: "Look back. Always appreciate where you've come from." And when I did, I noticed how the view, looking back, was even more gorgeous than it was walking through the first time. This got me thinking about the need to LOOK BACK. Janet's right. We need to appreciate where we came from. 

All right then, that's enough wisdom for one day. My tea is getting cold -- and I've got to get to work on the second draft of my Salade Nicoise story. It's scheduled to appear in next Wednesday's Gazette. Photographs by my friend Janet!