(Chronicle) Ode to public benches

In the street of my childhood, next to the house opposite, there stood a large round metal bench. At the first rays of summer, during the long evenings, it was the place to meet up with neighbors to talk about the rain, the good weather and much more. Sitting down together and taking the time to converse: what could be more valuable to start in life?

Since then, like the dowser with his hazel branch, I have been looking for benches in public spaces. Unfortunately, they are becoming rare, driven out by municipalities which fear “groupings” or their occupation by homeless people. Others bring them back, in order to encourage walking or to adapt the city to the aging of the population.

This spring, what was my joy to discover at the edge of a pond, planted at regular intervals, wooden benches financed (specified a label) via the region’s ecological participatory budget. This humble piece of street furniture then revealed to me another of its superpowers: contemplation. Sit there and look at the beauty around you: what could be more necessary today?

All that was missing was one or two strangers to sit down with me and start a casual conversation. Friend of social bonds, of the poor and of wonder: if the integral ecology dear in particular to Pope Francis were an object, I have no doubt that it would be a public bench.