P.S.
Nach vielen Tagen des Zweifels, ob es angemessen sei, eine solche hier als PDF eingekleidete Nachricht an jene Menschen in den USA zu schreiben, mit denen in den letzten Jahren/Jahrzehnten Beziehungen aufgebebaut wurden, die über die beruflich veranlassten Kontakte weit hinausgingen, trafen noch am gleichen Tag viele bewegende Antworten ein. Von diesen hier als pars pro toto einige wenige, die alle diesbezüglichen Zweifel ausgeräumt haben - und sogleich individuell beantwortet wurden.
It is great to hear from you and hear you are writing a new book. [...]
We will be having Thanksgiving for our family and friends at our home, which seems to be a tradition. We expect 14 people for a sitdown dinner.
We have such fond memories from when you showed us around Berlin, took us to the television studio, and the incredible Pergamon museum.
I hope your new book will be a great success.
Thank you for the warm intimate note. I hope to reciprocate here in kind.
As you and I are both “men of a certain age“, reflections on the arc of life and the narrative through lines, they now weave onto the center stage of our concerns and attention.
Looking at the life that I lived, not from a nostalgic perspective, rather from “the whole truth“ of what really mattered and still matters, that still resonates through the fabric of time, there is a small circle of friends that I carry with me, deep down.
You are such a friend and have your own quiet, nuanced way affected me in ways that seem to still be unfolding.
It seems to me that you and I share an outlook, a mood and a reckless pursuit of some ideal with abandon: freedom, adventure, and some ineffable quality that I might call Horrific Beauty.
With the certain “big next” within sight, unlike most people, you have not only risen to the challenge, but continue to prevail. Bravo!
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I’ll set an extra chair for our big dinner tomorrow night, knowing/sensing your presence, your sparkling curiosity, and sense of play.
It is so lovely to hear from you!
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I am honored to be your friend and would greatly enjoy more conversations.
It is a mixed blessing to be named the German Stephen Hawkins!
I am very fortunate to be in good health. I do my best to ignore the minor aches and pains of getting old and remind myself that I am here and present and to enjoy this moment. I think we’re very much alike in this respect: we both look at life and existence with awe. I recently read a comment from someone who said she loved her astronomy class because it made her feel so small. It gave her a different perspective on life. I can understand that.
I rarely discuss this. Early in my life I was fascinated with eastern philosophies and gurus. I was placed in a very stressful situation at Dolby (Apocalypse Now, appropriately) in which I succeeded, but it completely burned me out. I took time off to go to India to be with a guru. A few years later, I moved to a commune in the US that was established by the same guy. The end story is I don’t follow gurus anymore. But it took me years to put together what I had experienced, and as that understanding moves deeply into my being, and as I get older, I have a very different perspective on life. I am not worried about dying. This is not a religious experience - I am not a religious person. I consider my experience to be a very pragmatic one. But it is much more than mental thought.
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I wish you happiness as you move forward in life, and I look forward to hearing back!
Thank you so much for your Thanksgiving greetings. At Thanksgiving we give thanks for the things we are grateful for. I am grateful to have met you 49 years ago. What a long time! And to have been able to keep in touch with you over the years. You say they refer to you as the “Stephen Hawkins of Germany”. For your brilliance, yes!
