To the editor:

Many people probably remember with emotion my friend, Suzie Roush Miller. You certainly remember that she had many connections in Chartres, France.

My name is Josette Rennesson and I arrived in Nashville on July 3, 1988. I was welcomed by the whole Miller clan, and since then, we have been exchanging, sharing and experiencing so many things with them. Then our daughter, Manue, spent one school year with Suzie — a wonderful experience that changed her whole perception of life; she even made fudge with Mr. Schwab!

Then, with Suzie and the help of Beth Archer with the agricultural leadership program, I came to Indiana each year with a group of students from my agricultural college in Chartres; then Indiana farmers made a discovery trip with us, so a group of French farmers, enthralled by the whole concept and the links which were established, asked me to take them to Indiana. We ended the trip with a huge bonfire at Bob Allen’s, an evening we will always remember. In fact, it was my birthday. Susie and her son Craig came to Chartres for Manue’s wedding; each year one of us was traveling one way or another. We even had our traveling suitcase which carried all the extra things we were exchanging.

When I close my eyes I can see the Liars Bench, the man who was playing the guitar and sang for us one evening with Suzie’s father, and long discussions with Steve and Ann Miller and the whole family. We shared joy but also sad events, but we always were so close.

Nashville is, for me, the center of the USA, because it brought me so many extraordinary moments of friendship and peace, outside all the turmoils of the world!

And this July, nearly 30 years later, my grandson Louis will be in Nashville to share the same experience and will stay with Craig and Tina Roush and their three teenagers.

Don’t you think there is something marvelous — three generations of exchange — just as if the spirit of Suzie was back with us?

Thank you for taking time to read our story.

Josette Rennesson, Chartres, France

Send letters to [email protected] by noon Thursday before the date of intended publication (noon Wednesday on holiday weeks).

Letters are the opinions of the writer.

Letters must be signed by the author and include the writer’s town of residence and a contact number in case of questions. Only one letter every two weeks, per writer, to allow for diversity of voices in the opinions section.

Please be considerate of sharing space with other letter-writers and keep your comments concise and to the point.

Avoid name-calling, accusations of criminal activity and second- and third-hand statements of “fact.”