Marcus' World

Helen's Gifts: A Photo Montage

As I mentioned briefly the other night, Helen left notes, a stuffed animal and a book before heading to her summer internship.  Below is a photo montage; hope you enjoy it as much as I appreciated it.



  
   

Helen's Summer Internship Begins

Tonight I accompanied Helen to the airport, and as I write she's en route to JFK airport in New York City. From there she'll move on to Danbury, CT.  She'll be completing an internship at Duracell (located in Bethel, CT) this summer.

I already miss Helen, and can't wait until I visit her in five weeks. In the meantime I am enjoying all the nice touches she left around the apartment--books, notes, even a stuffed animal.  All I did was go to the airport, so I have some making up to do!

Over the summer (and then again when Helen goes to London in the fall) I've set a goal of living "hermit Sundays," when I keep to myself and write more seriously than I ever have before. Blog posts are great, but I also want to write essays that go through many drafts and look nothing like you expected when you started. Writing on any day is fine, but hermit Sunday will be the focal point for sustained energy.

On most other days I'll come out of the hermit shell and hang out with the great friends I've made here in the Bay Area. And Helen already has great plans for all the fun times she'll have in New York over the weekends, and the activities (pottery classes? voice lessons?) that will fill up her weekday evenings. And of course we'll talk every single day.

So although it will definitely be lonely sometimes, I'm happy that we will both make the most out of this summer.

Two Honors for Katie

Florida International University's public health students have developed two most appropriate honors for Katie Evans. Please read John's blog for further details.

Two-Way Streets: Helen's New Blog

Helen started a new blog focused on marketing, called Two-Way Streets. It's a new link under "Places to See," in the left column of this page.

Marketing will be her focus at the Haas School of Business for the next two years; even though classes  don't start until tomorrow, there are already several posts.  Learn more  about her goals for the blog in the About page, and keep up with it in your favorite RSS reader.  Most of  all, enjoy!

Road Trip Photo Album

The photo album from our cross-country trip is now up on Shutterfly.  It's at the top of the page; just click "View pictures" and then "View as a slideshow." There are 39 pictures, complete with Helen's informative captions.

Enjoy!

John's Tribute to Katie

In the face of great loss, the best way I know how to cope is to write.

But certainly my own perspective on Katie is much less important than John's.

An Authentic Life: Remembering Katie Evans

One of my closest friends at Northwestern was John W. Evans.  John and I sometime disagree passionately--most recently this year, when I became overly exercised with his take on my views about China.  Looking back on that episode, I certainly caused a tempest in a teapot.

Today that disagreement feels very small indeed. While we were away in Nigeria, and I was totally wrapped up in my own world, John's  wife Katie was tragically killed on a hiking trip in Romania.  John and Katie relocated to Bucharest last year, and Katie had accepted a position as the HIV/AIDS project manager for the International Orthodox Christian Charities in Romania.  John is a teacher and poet in Bucharest.

Before moving to Romania permanently, Katie completed a three month internship there as part of her work for a Masters of Science in Public Health at Florida International University.  When she and John lived in Chicago, Katie worked for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.  And before that, Katie met John as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bangladesh.

Many people talk about living a life in service to others, but Katie actually did it. 

In 2005 I was able to attend the American Public Health Association meeting in Philadelphia as a librarian, while Katie attended as a student. My best memory from that meeting was having dinner with Katie.

In 2004 Helen and I were honored to attend John and Katie's wedding, which took place in a converted barn in the fields of northwest Indiana. Afterwards (or before, I can't remember) we took a ride around the farm with other wedding guests.  I doubt that we'll ever go to another wedding like this one, but it was no surprise at all coming from John and Katie.

Way back in 1999, John and I were part of a group that protested Madeleine Albright's planned commencement address at Northwestern. We blamed her for the devastating sanctions on Iraqi civilians, with little understanding that a foolish war would commence in a few short years. 

During those protests we met a Chicago activist who seemed to be living in the equivalent of an urban kibbutz.  It was communal style living, counter-cultural in every possible way.  I remember telling John with admiration that this was an example of an "authentic life."

At that point in time John did not even know Katie. But by 2007, I can think of someone else who lived a very authentic life.  It's not often that tears come to my eyes while blogging, but that's what is happening today.

France Photos

Helen and I ventured to France for the first time earlier this month, for a conference and then vacation.  For Helen, it was all vacation! We spent two days in Nancy, in the northeast, and then five nights in Paris. 

Two great trips this year--To Argentina and to France.  Both were wonderful, although we did feel more free to chart our own course in Buenos Aires.  Paris has so many "must-sees" that first-timers labor under a sense of obligation that they must get to everything.

Helen has done her usual great job of organizing the photos and adding captions.  Two photo albums are available on our web site.

Here is a picture of us at the top of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, with gargoyles in the vicinity and the city below.