Seth, you were such a beautiful child. You were the light of my life: sweet, funny, scary smart, interested in everything. When you were little, whenever we were driving to school, you would try out big words and slyly look out of the corner of your eye to get my reaction.
Once when I came to pick you up at the Montessori preschool in San Francisco, I was told you had been taken to the doctor because you drove your tricycle off the edge of the steps. You weren’t badly hurt, but when we were driving home you told me, “There are hurting things in this world.”
When you were in fourth grade and the class was asked to bring a dish from their origins, one little girl brought sushi. None of the other children would try it except you; you were so hurt for her, but you appreciated sushi and what a special offering it was. When you were six and we drove by a Japanese restaurant on Geary, you pointed and told me it was your favorite restaurant.
During my rehearsals and performances, you always paid attention. When it was a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, you learned the words and music. During Nutcracker performances in the opera house, the bassist would lift you up over the railing of the pit to sit in one of the side seats. You never got tired of watching.
When you were 11 or so, you and your friend Tony Hsieh set up a bulletin board. You guys figured out how you could do something that had to do with making lots of phone calls (international calls, I think) for free; this may be wildly inaccurate, but still. Early one morning, the police came knocking at your dad’s door with a warrant and took you away to the Marin County Jail. Luckily, we were able to bail you out before you had to spend the night. You were a little humbled, and grateful to get out. I think you did have to pay some fines.
Tony encouraged you to try to get into Branson and you did, a more appropriate place for you than public school in Novato. After your graduation from Sinaloa Middle School and after our family celebration when we were all riding in the car, you asked your grandpa why the girls seemed to like best the boys who acted so tough. My dad said, “Seth, you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to figure that one out.”
At Branson you got involved with drama productions, staging and especially lighting, even getting awards at graduation for Stagecraft and Trades and Industrials. You really enjoyed the world behind the curtain, the importance of lighting and color, and climbing around on the rigs adjusting the lights. This had great appeal for you, but in the end computer science won out as a career direction.
At Hampshire College, where students design their own research program in Division III, your chosen study was “Deconstructing Software Quality.” The evaluation committee called your research “original and sophisticated.” Michael Moore was the speaker at your graduation.
As you grew up, we would talk and talk and talk: food, life, people, more food topics and techniques and your latest projects. Headcheese! And. boy. could you cook. I learned so much cooking with you, the most wonderful thing we loved to do together, sharing, hanging out, discussing what we were doing and our serving plans. Holidays were always cooking with you. Holidays will always be cooking with you. You will always be with me when I am cooking.
After you came back to your beloved San Francisco and settled into your work life, you brought truly wonderful and beautiful women into our lives, Mira and Halsted, both women we fell in love with as well. Other friends of yours have been so kind to me, Shelly and especially Maia—I wish I had known her a long time ago.
Seth, I love you dearly, you have made me so happy and proud, you have made my life worthwhile. I am truly privileged to have been your mother. Rest in peace, dear, precious son.
Light a Candle
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Once when I came to pick you up at the Montessori preschool in San Francisco, I was told you had been taken to the doctor because you drove your tricycle off the edge of the steps. You weren’t badly hurt, but when we were driving home you told me, “There are hurting things in this world.”
When you were in fourth grade and the class was asked to bring a dish from their origins, one little girl brought sushi. None of the other children would try it except you; you were so hurt for her, but you appreciated sushi and what a special offering it was. When you were six and we drove by a Japanese restaurant on Geary, you pointed and told me it was your favorite restaurant.
During my rehearsals and performances, you always paid attention. When it was a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, you learned the words and music. During Nutcracker performances in the opera house, the bassist would lift you up over the railing of the pit to sit in one of the side seats. You never got tired of watching.
When you were 11 or so, you and your friend Tony Hsieh set up a bulletin board. You guys figured out how you could do something that had to do with making lots of phone calls (international calls, I think) for free; this may be wildly inaccurate, but still. Early one morning, the police came knocking at your dad’s door with a warrant and took you away to the Marin County Jail. Luckily, we were able to bail you out before you had to spend the night. You were a little humbled, and grateful to get out. I think you did have to pay some fines.
Tony encouraged you to try to get into Branson and you did, a more appropriate place for you than public school in Novato. After your graduation from Sinaloa Middle School and after our family celebration when we were all riding in the car, you asked your grandpa why the girls seemed to like best the boys who acted so tough. My dad said, “Seth, you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to figure that one out.”
At Branson you got involved with drama productions, staging and especially lighting, even getting awards at graduation for Stagecraft and Trades and Industrials. You really enjoyed the world behind the curtain, the importance of lighting and color, and climbing around on the rigs adjusting the lights. This had great appeal for you, but in the end computer science won out as a career direction.
At Hampshire College, where students design their own research program in Division III, your chosen study was “Deconstructing Software Quality.” The evaluation committee called your research “original and sophisticated.” Michael Moore was the speaker at your graduation.
As you grew up, we would talk and talk and talk: food, life, people, more food topics and techniques and your latest projects. Headcheese! And. boy. could you cook. I learned so much cooking with you, the most wonderful thing we loved to do together, sharing, hanging out, discussing what we were doing and our serving plans. Holidays were always cooking with you. Holidays will always be cooking with you. You will always be with me when I am cooking.
After you came back to your beloved San Francisco and settled into your work life, you brought truly wonderful and beautiful women into our lives, Mira and Halsted, both women we fell in love with as well. Other friends of yours have been so kind to me, Shelly and especially Maia—I wish I had known her a long time ago.
Seth, I love you dearly, you have made me so happy and proud, you have made my life worthwhile. I am truly privileged to have been your mother. Rest in peace, dear, precious son.