When I was a little boy my mother instilled in me a love for libraries and, perhaps inadvertently, an ongoing secret crush on librarians. I mean if there are such things as angels on earth I think they disguise themselves as librarians. Children’s librarians are especially holy.

So it goes to follow that I would fall for the librarians at the nearby branch of the Nantes Library System. The woman on the left is named Elodie. She is the person who assisted Melinda and me with getting cards for the family. And the woman on the right is named Céline. Céline not only speaks English, she seems to instinctively recognize my desire to practice French so doesn’t speak English with me unless I ask. Both women are so quick to greet me each time I visit the library that I always feel welcomed and appreciated. I asked if they’d be willing to pose for a picture and got this shot. Don’t tell them but I’m going to try to recruit them to participate in one of the upcoming kindness classes.

Returning to the origin of my crushes, I remember the librarian at Hartman Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska helping me check out my first book. I was probably in first grade. The book was called “Rough Ice” and was about hockey. When I read it, I pronounced the word “rough” as “rugged” and thought the book was named “Rugged Ice” for the longest time. It was one of those books that I checked out again and again, the librarian always being so kind, understanding and helpful…