part of the house is it’s only a few milesfrom Caroline, who, with a little help from dad, bought a condo in Santa Monica close to Maggie’s parents. My new house is also close to my new job and Ben’s new school.
Oh, I almost forget my great new opportunity. I’m back at my alma mater, UCLA, teaching, if you can believe it. I’ve been called a lot of things before but never Professor. Apparently the administration didn’t want to overload me and felt two classes were enough for me to handle. The first, “Business Outside the Box” is an undergraduate course held in a large theater like room that seats about 250 students. Because the three hour class forces the students to endure my lecturing for too long, I’ve introduced some of the latest high-tech gadgets to keep them interested and awake. My second class is for grad students, “Morality in Today’s Business.” The twenty-four students get a chance to participate in fascinating discussions that I probably enjoy more than they do.
It’s such a joy to be back in the academic world surrounded by bright, alive, inquisitive young people. The energy on campus is so infectious and the diversity among students is much greater than it was when I was a student here. I look forward to every day, every class and am grateful for the opportunity. I’m not sure I’ve ever told you this but I contemplated becoming a teacher before I went to Stanford to get my MBA. Now I wonder if I made the right decision.
Ben is comfortably enrolled in the UCLA autistic program and I take him to class and pick him up everyday. I’ve also been very lucky to find one of the special need teachers who needed a little financial help. Tony is now our 24 year old live in helper. I give him free rent in our guest house plus a salary. With Sarah flying down Monday mornings through Friday afternoons twice a month, Caroline close by and both sets of grandparents visiting regularly, Ben has stability in his life and our house is much more a home.
There’s another positive change in my life. Besides teaching I’ve also started to exercise—a lot. Not the token time I spent at the Company gym up north but a serious 2 hours a day, six days a week. It’s another activity I gave up for business and another big mistake. My routine now consists of at least an hour of hard cardio a day combined with weights and yoga. Caroline jokes she wants me to do the Malibu triathlon with her next year. Maybe that will be my goal. I could swim in my pool at the house but the Olympic size pool at UCLA and their Masters program is much more inviting. What’s important is that I feel better physically than I have in many, many years. One of these days I hope to have grandkids to spoil and I want to be around to see them grow-up.
I hope with all my heart that this world finds you healthy and happy. So much in my life has changed but you remain wondrously clear and timelessly beautiful.
Dear Tess,
After 9/11 our world will never be the same. Terrorism has become a real threat to world peace. Stopping these madmen, who are suicidal religious extremists, must be our security focus if we’re to avoid other catastrophes.
It’s great to be back in LA and everyone seems to have adjusted well. Most importantly, Ben seems to be thriving is his new environment. Tony has been a great help and, by accident, identified an exceptional artistic skill of Ben’s. Tony’s hobby is painting abstract seascapes and while he was painting the ocean from our backyard view he handed Ben a brush and a canvas on an easel. The result was a seascape unlike anything Tony or Caroline or I had ever seen. Now Ben and Tony can often be found painting alongside one another.
I would have thought we would have identified this talent earlier but then Ben never had the spectacular view of thePacific we have from our backyard. I’ve had a half dozen of his paintings framed and besides those hanging on our walls, Caroline and the grandparents
Oh, I almost forget my great new opportunity. I’m back at my alma mater, UCLA, teaching, if you can believe it. I’ve been called a lot of things before but never Professor. Apparently the administration didn’t want to overload me and felt two classes were enough for me to handle. The first, “Business Outside the Box” is an undergraduate course held in a large theater like room that seats about 250 students. Because the three hour class forces the students to endure my lecturing for too long, I’ve introduced some of the latest high-tech gadgets to keep them interested and awake. My second class is for grad students, “Morality in Today’s Business.” The twenty-four students get a chance to participate in fascinating discussions that I probably enjoy more than they do.
It’s such a joy to be back in the academic world surrounded by bright, alive, inquisitive young people. The energy on campus is so infectious and the diversity among students is much greater than it was when I was a student here. I look forward to every day, every class and am grateful for the opportunity. I’m not sure I’ve ever told you this but I contemplated becoming a teacher before I went to Stanford to get my MBA. Now I wonder if I made the right decision.
Ben is comfortably enrolled in the UCLA autistic program and I take him to class and pick him up everyday. I’ve also been very lucky to find one of the special need teachers who needed a little financial help. Tony is now our 24 year old live in helper. I give him free rent in our guest house plus a salary. With Sarah flying down Monday mornings through Friday afternoons twice a month, Caroline close by and both sets of grandparents visiting regularly, Ben has stability in his life and our house is much more a home.
There’s another positive change in my life. Besides teaching I’ve also started to exercise—a lot. Not the token time I spent at the Company gym up north but a serious 2 hours a day, six days a week. It’s another activity I gave up for business and another big mistake. My routine now consists of at least an hour of hard cardio a day combined with weights and yoga. Caroline jokes she wants me to do the Malibu triathlon with her next year. Maybe that will be my goal. I could swim in my pool at the house but the Olympic size pool at UCLA and their Masters program is much more inviting. What’s important is that I feel better physically than I have in many, many years. One of these days I hope to have grandkids to spoil and I want to be around to see them grow-up.
I hope with all my heart that this world finds you healthy and happy. So much in my life has changed but you remain wondrously clear and timelessly beautiful.
Dear Tess,
After 9/11 our world will never be the same. Terrorism has become a real threat to world peace. Stopping these madmen, who are suicidal religious extremists, must be our security focus if we’re to avoid other catastrophes.
It’s great to be back in LA and everyone seems to have adjusted well. Most importantly, Ben seems to be thriving is his new environment. Tony has been a great help and, by accident, identified an exceptional artistic skill of Ben’s. Tony’s hobby is painting abstract seascapes and while he was painting the ocean from our backyard view he handed Ben a brush and a canvas on an easel. The result was a seascape unlike anything Tony or Caroline or I had ever seen. Now Ben and Tony can often be found painting alongside one another.
I would have thought we would have identified this talent earlier but then Ben never had the spectacular view of thePacific we have from our backyard. I’ve had a half dozen of his paintings framed and besides those hanging on our walls, Caroline and the grandparents
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