The above series of photos was taken by David Kashoff in Congénies, a village between Nimes and Montpellier in the Languedoc region of France, while he and his wife and travel companion were staying at the Quaker House (Maison Quaker). See the accompanying article Quakers in France: Finding Friends in Languedoc by Judy Kashoff.

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“Just the two of us?” I’d asked on the phone.

“I’ll call a few others” he’d said.

He lives on the fifth floor of a walk-up and was moving livingroom furniture and books into an unoccupied apartment on the ground floor while his own apartment was undergoing major renovation. When he opened the door I was surprised to see that no one else was there. I asked when the others would arrive.

“I don’t have any friends,” he said half-jokingly. The other half was an earnest smile that let me know it was true.

“No one has friends at times like this,” I reassured him.

He seemed to appreciate that. We got to work, just the two of us. It wasn’t too bad—six or seven trips up and down the stairs and just one difficult moment trying to fit a couch through the door.

My back and groin were sore the next day. But it was worth it. I now have someone to call the day I move.

(c) 2008, Gary Lee Kraut

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