Back in those long ago Taunton / Norton days, Heidi often wore hand-me-down clothing once worn by Elizabeth. Later Heidi's mother introduced Hans Wolf ("the most eligible bachelor in town") to Elizabeth Bassett; and Heidi's father, an ordained minister, presided over their eventual marriage ceremony six months later (They were engaged within six weeks!). Equally special, their first daughter (of three followed by a single son) was named "Heidi".
Later, when Heidi and Lee were married in Thailand, Hans extended a business trip to Germany to take in a visit to the newlyweds in Bangkok (!) and provided the Martins with the first 8mm film evidence of Lee's actual existence. (He also filmed Heidi at work in the television studio teaching her weekly elementary school English Language lessons, our only visual record of that particular Peace Corps experience aside from a handful of black-and-white photos.)
Both Elizabeth and Hans traveled with us to China and Tibet in 1988, and we visited with them (on both the East Coast and at their Palo Alto sanctuary) over the years. Hans died in 2004, and we last visited Elizabeth here in 2006.
On this trip we arrived on Mockingbird Lane a day before she did! Next day in the afternoon we picked her up at the airport together with Phyllis Willits, her travel companion over the past several years.
And therein lies the kernal of yet another serendipitous adventure: we stopped in to drop Phyllis off at her home in the faculty housing neighborhood nestled in the hills behind the Stanford campus and walked into the house only to encounter the aroma of fresh-from-the-oven brownies baked by Bob Eustis, a retired Professor of Engineering, with whom she lives. Bob and Phyllis and Elizabeth (along with their respective, now deceased, spouses) have been fast friends for years. So we stayed long enough to sample the brownies and sip some tea and to admire Bob's masterfully crafted wooden chairs (to which he held the patent until he transferred it to Stanford as a scholarship bequest).
Their home, like so many nearby, is an architectural wonder, all mid-century Danish modern with lots and lots of polished wood beams and paneling, overlooking Hoover Tower in the distance. The surrounding yard features several huge, old live oak trees and a shaded patio to die for -- it was a real treat to spend the short time we had there with them becoming acquainted and chatting in such an exquisite setting.
Back "home" on Mockingbird Lane, Elizabeth wrestled up a tasty salmon supper for the three of us out on the covered patio, and we heard all about her Canadian travels, a relaxing end to a busy day.
All rested and refreshed, this morning we drove to Menlo Park in search of Keplers, a favorite bookstore from decades past, only to find it undergoing renovations in an attempt to avoid the fate of so many other independent bookshops in the Age of Amazon. We made do with a stroll through the nearby main shopping street before retreating to the Stanford Bookstore to browse their shelves.
It's always good on occasion to have access to the kind of unexpected discoveries that bookshelves provide so much better than an online list of recommended titles. And both of us found prospects we hadn't considered before our visit. Of course, we'll likely download them onto our Kindle or Nook rather than burdening our suitcases with more weighty tomes, but that's they way of the world nowadays, isn't it?
The afternoon hours we wiled away reading and dozing on the patio. Tonight we're off to Akane, a Japanese restaurant in Los Altos for dinner: review to follow, yet surely the end to another restful and enjoyable day ...
No comments:
Post a Comment