Where does The Idiot find a meditative spot to chill in busy and buzzing Silicon Valley?
Where does he go after he visits Apple’s new “spaceship” headquarters in Cupertino, inspects the site of a Stanford University extension in Redwood City, has lunch on University Avenue in vibrant Palo Alto and entertains the possibility of investing in HQ Trivia?
The Idiot has usually found (the primary exception was during the late 1960s when he participated in protests, demonstrations and shutdowns) solace and serenity on college campuses, from the hillside American University of Beirut in Lebanon to the University of Cape Town in South Africa to Humboldt State in zenned out Arcata, CA.
In Silicon Valley, he finds peace and quiet on Stanford’s tranquil and calming campus where he majored in, among other things, religious studies and creative writing between 1966-70.
The Idiot, who attended Stanford University fifty years ago, frequently drops onto the Stanford campus to get a break from vibrant Palo Alto and bustling Silicon Valley.
The Idiot used to work out in the Stanford pool but now he’s content with taking a dip in The Claw (aka White Memorial Fountain), one of 25 fountains on campus, during a visit on a sunny February day.
The Idiot looks up friends from the 60s, like Dwight Clark who was dean of freshmen men and started Volunteers in Asia, an organization that took The Idiot to Hong Kong to teach English in 1967. Clark, 84, just flew to Japan to oversee a new group of Japanese students visiting other countries in the region in conjunction with his latest venture, Learning Across Borders.
(Photo: Liz Chapin)
The Idiot, whose books are on sale at the Stanford Bookstore, checks out the new crop of Ts.
(Photo: Liz Chapin)
Walking through the hallowed “halls” on Stanford’s main quadrangle.
Meeting and imitating one of Auguste Rodin’s Burghers of Calais on the Stanford campus.
(Photo: Liz Chapin)
Hoover Tower is behind palm trees with dead leaves that definitely need trimming. Budget crisis?
Taking a bench break during a stroll through the Stanford campus on a warmish February afternoon.
(Photo: Liz Chapin)
Standing in front of Stanford Memorial Church during an unofficial earthquake drill.
Pleased that the Stanford Memorial Church is still standing after the unofficial earthquake drill.
Dropping into The Axe & Palm in Stanford’s Old Union for a coffee on the farm before leaving campus.
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