French was Lucy’s native language and many of the sweetest memories of my childhood are of our sharing French together. I was lucky to hear, and to imitate, her impeccable accent. The first books I can remember are “Babar”. Mom would read to me each night the whimsical stories of the magical elephant who wore an emerald-green suit. I would swoon to hear mom’s French, telling me the tales of “Babar l’éléphante”.
Lucy wasn’t a forceful personality but when my elementary school hired a teacher from Montreal as their French teacher, mom protested in no uncertain terms. No disrespect from me, trust me, but I can only report that mom felt enduring the French Canadian accent was akin to nails scraping the chalkboard.