Dear Friends,
Shortly after we arrived in Villefranche at the end of December, we were doing our usual shopping which involves stopping at several small shops, including the local green grocer. Bernard is well past any normal retirement date, but he has continued to work because that is what you do. As we were almost done picking out the produce we wanted, he said that he was retiring at the end of the year. We expressed our surprise and sorrow as best we could. Our french is now good enough to do that but Bernard is very deaf and has a particularly hard time hearing Jane especially through her mask. She pulled down her mask to talk to him. We think that he understood what we were conveying. Here is a photo of Jane and Bernard we took in October when we were here. You can see that Bernard has his own way of wearing a mask.
His shop was really just a half below ground dugout under a building with a basement next door which kept produce at just the right temperature. You never think to yourself tonight we will have green beans, mushrooms and potatoes from Bernard. You went to Bernard and asked what he had and you chose from those things. What he had depended on what was available to him that he felt was good enough and had not yet been purchased by his other customers. His hours were sporadic by US standards. He wasn't there too early but usually by mid-morning. He went to lunch from 12:30/1:00 pm to about 4:30/5:00 pm. We have no idea how late he stayed.
There will be nobody to succeed Bernard. Today when we walked by his old shop there was a bunch of lumber and other building supplies. It looks like something will be there, but unlikely any kind of retail shop. We will still be able to get great produce, but it will just not be the same without Bernard.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
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