Stacey

Spoken at Stacey's Memorial; January 26, 2017

Stacey has long been my dearest friend. It was my great fortune that our paths crossed thirty years ago as freshmen undergraduates at Berkeley. She was then and always a delight to be around; funny and fun, interesting and interested and so very smart.  We spent much time discussing everything as college kids do and then continued the conversation.

Stacey was the cool kid. Cool in the Obama sense of the word. Cool in the face of my dramas, with twins and many international moves. But also cool in the cultural sense. One of her mix tapes, circa graduate school, is epic, the soundtrack of my life.

Stacey challenged me. Years ago, we read the OED that her parents got her together. This year she forced me to get a poetry app as she has always felt my poetry reading to be lax.

Stacey comforted me. During a difficult mid-winter move to Munich, Stacey was endlessly optimistic when no one else was. She of course learned enough German in a matter of weeks, whereas over 4 years, I never really did.

She had a particular way of blending more academic statements with more cultural references that always made me laugh. Stacey was so intellectual and curious she made all of life seem like those deeply felt impassioned college days.

More recently, I have lived in Hong Kong and Munich and it would have been easy to follow out of steady contact but it never happened. Through it all, Stacey was a true and loyal friend. And I will do the same now. Though the distances are greater than ever before, I will always be thinking of Stacey. Remembering our many good times and talking to her in my heart.