Stephens Lounge Revisited

Anne With Children

My old friend Anne from Germany found me online and sent a photo of herself with children, informing me:

I am back in Berkeley for 6 months with my 15 year old daughter Noémie. My son - 21 years old - is studying at the University of Bayreuth (in Bavaria). I'm here on a sabbatical doing some research about the aging of society and its implication for the social security system in Germany. It's a little bit like a travel through time - exactly 30 years after my first stay. Again I'm working in Stephens Lounge every day. Nothing has changed, even the cookies are the same (not exactly the same I hope but the same brand).

Nothing has changed, but something is changing:

Unfortunately the lounge will closed in one week and will no longer be accessible for graduate students (or old professors like me). The official reason: The lounge is not accessible for handicapped persons. But my guess is that this room is much to nice to leave it to students. I heard that it will be restored and used for donors...

Regular readers know of this closing of the Lounge. Anne, however, has a place to return to:

In Germany I'm living in a little vine village near Heidelberg with my children and my dog. I'm working in Darmstadt as a law professor, I'm pretty busy giving lectures and trying to influence politics in Berlin (mostly in vain). What I like best is backpacking in the French Sea Alps north of Nice!

As you may have surmised, I met Anne during my Berkeley days when I worked in the Lounge serving coffee and cookies. Anne also took care of me on my first trip to Europe, showing me around Bremen for two weeks before I headed for Switzerland.

Everything then began to change for me . . .