"Some Things Do Not Change, Being the Work of Centuries"

A lovely column by Roger Cohen a few days ago on the stubborn persistence of personal attachments and traditions, and the way in which they seem perpetually to obstruct efficiency, globalization, progress, and other modern dispensations of the spirit of the age. I remember a few years ago when our family sold the home in which it had thrived, and grown, and lived together. Even property is never "just property." A bit:

A few weeks ago I was in France, where I’ve owned a village house for almost 20 years that I am now planning to sell. A real estate agent had taken a look at the property and we had made an appointment to discuss how to proceed. She swept into the kitchen, a bundle of energy and conviction, with an impassioned appeal:

“Monsieur Cohen, whatever you do, you must on no account sell this house!”

I gazed at her, a little incredulous.

“You cannot sell it. This is a family home. You know it the moment you step in. You sense it in the walls. You breathe it in every room. You feel it in your bones. This is a house you must keep for your children. I will help you sell it if you insist, but my advice is not to sell. You would be making a mistake.”

This was, shall we say, a cultural moment....