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Angela Kong

Friend of his daughter

A record of some of the memories that I had with Steph's dad: I remember the time we got brunch with her parents at Tai Pan in Palo Alto. For a reason unbeknownst to me, her Dad picked me up from Wilbur, and on the "way he raved about Germany and his education at the Free University of Berlin. I wish I remembered more, but there’s a quote somewhere that “children don’t remember what you say, but they will always remember how they make you feel.” I distinctly remember feeling like I was in the presence of a very worldly father. I say “father”, not “man”, because the conversation was actually mostly not about him but rather about our friendship--me and Steph. I remember it because it struck me how much he adores her. I remember the night of our sleepover when it was late & we were looking forward to sleeping in the next morning. Just then, her dad came upstairs and mentioned that he was leaving for a business trip to China the next morning, and maybe, "if you Steph could send me?" He was half-joking, but so clearly couldn’t help himself from entertaining the notion that his daughter might send him off. The idea pleased him so much, and of course Steph, being the sweetest person ever, happily indulged him in that. I remember it because I thought it was so caring of her. I remember the story he told over the dinner table one night about Archimedes, who found a way to test if the gold crown that the King received was not mixed with other metals in his bathtub. I remember it because he was so passionate to share this story of scientific discovery with us. For all of these memories with him, I am so grateful.

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