Friday, October 13, 2023
I met Clare about 45 years ago in a French conversation class. We had been French majors a decade before then and were looking for a chance to keep up our French speaking skills. We were both living on the west side and working downtown, so we would meet for lunch from time to time. We soon discovered that we had a few other things in common, especially music; she sang and I played violin. In the early '80s we both pursued MBAs at UCLA's Graduate School of Management (now Anderson) and had mutual friends there in common. We traveled together -- fall foliage in New England, B&Bs in Vermont, the Gardner Museum, and the Boston Symphony in 1984; Vienna, Saltzburg, and Venice in 1985, dining at spots recommended by her mother who wrote travel pieces. When I married in 1987 she lamented that she had lost her travel partner. Over the next two decades we attended LA Phil and LACO concerts together, and I saw several of her Mansfield performances. We were the same age, born a month apart, and often celebrated our birthdays together at a French bistrot or Italian ristorante. When I moved to OC in 2007 she regretted the cultural loss I’d suffer behind the “Orange Curtain.” Not to worry: I quickly found rich musical experiences. However, the real divide was that it was no longer so easy for us to get together for "un café" or lunch or a walk. Clare, I’m sorry the past few years have been so difficult for you, but I’ll remember the many fun times we had for so long. Adieu! -- Ta chère Edith
