McDonald, Kathryn (eng.)
Mar 20th, 2011 by Charlotte Haug
Kathy writes:
I remember meeting Gudmund when he ventured to the Stanford area with Charlotte in 2001. So he started out simply as a handsome, engaging friend of Charlotte’s, in my mind. I was happy for Charlotte, that she had the attention of a charming good man. Over the years though, I’ve learned more about Gudmund’s charms by spending year after year together in California, and finally in Norway too (last summer, see picture below). Here are just a few Gudmund glimpses –
- Holding court in the Stanford School of Education at a seminar he led last fall (2010).
- Did you know he’s good at choosing flattering clothes for women? I found that out in Carmel, California.
- Books, newspapers, journals, and anything on paper, all stacked up, surrounding him, in an office, at a hotel, anywhere he goes, anywhere he stays. Did I mention the bags and boxes of books brought to Hankø by boat?
- Teaching his California friends how to be a gracious guest and tell a good Norwegian story at the dinner table.
- Telling my daughter about the French Revolution while we ate Coq au Vin that he and Charlotte cooked for us, at my home.
The list goes on and on because with Gudmund, every moment is an interesting story starting. My husband Dan and I wish Gudmund a birthday to cherish with friends and family. Every birthday is the beginning of a new year, and we know Gudmund will live the next one just as fully as all the ones before it.
Kathy leaving Hankø summer 2010. Bjørn, Kathy, Gudmund, Charlotte, Einar, Øyvind
Hemmingway, I think, claimed that the masculine virtue “par excellence” (since he spent so much time in Paris we need a French idiom) was “grace under pressure”. That Kathy has – staying on top and in control in the most adverse of situations when all falls down and would overwhelm the faint-hearted.
But there is more to it: She has charm under pressure: an easy-going manner, a funny riposte, and the fact that when you are with her, you remain in her focus.
And yet she has (another French expression) “envergure” – wingspan – because she can at the same time enclose so many under her wings, making all feel so well taken care of.
And then there is Kathy the Stanford professional – curious, informed, up-dated, probing. All of which is amplified by husband Dan and their coming generation Patrick, Evan, Melinda and Holly. Always so generous: They will let you have anything but a dull moment!