That’s Madison on the left, grand daughter via eldest son, and her pal Elise. We were just waiting a few minutes to be seated at the restaurant and they found their own way to be pals in every space that modern life opens up for them.

I had such a pal beginning in third grade. Neither one of us had any other pals, and we clung together pretty much as we see these young ladies. We each collected the small cosmetic bottles that mothers discard when empty, and because each steam radiator had a tiny little drain mechanism we could fill and refill these endlessly, pretending that we were being chemists. He was “Professor Ubdub,” and I “Professor Phlubdub.” The name followed me nearly to college.

The last I knew of old Ubdub he was cultivating exotic strawberries near Stowe Vermont.

“I am what I not yet am.” Maxine Green. Being and becoming, youth bends our futures to its features.