Everyday Canvas

Friends and Marie Antoinette

Prompt: "One's enjoyment is doubled when one can share it with a friend." Marie Antoinette
What things do you enjoy sharing with a friend?

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I am not a fan of Marie Antoinette, who although showing some depth after gaining maturity, usually sounded frivolous and superficial, but I am a big fan of my close friends. Yet, with each friend, I usually do something different as most of my friends are doers with varied interests and are usually well-read.

In the past, with several of my friends, I used to do team sports, like bowling, tennis, and running, but now in old age, we’re not doing any of those things and we’re all scattered over the country and even the world, anyway. On the other hand, there are other things I like to do with friends. Going places with them and exploring new, interesting things together can be a lot of fun, but for my favorite occupations, which are writing and reading, I require solitude, so the more secluded I am the better while doing either.

What I don’t like is hanging out with people I know little of and not having any idea what to do with them. I guess I can come up with a bit of small talk, which ends up annoying in the long run.

Coming back to Marie Antoinette, since she was tossed into the courtly life at a very young age, she felt the need for close friendships from all walks of life. Unfortunately, the way she gushed about her close friends allowed the gossipers to come up with sordid misinterpretations of her feelings and actions. This quote might be one of those that could have made those hostile tongues wagging.