Hess Times


Leaping forward. Relishing the moment and the season. Read on to see how the extended Hess family changed, grew, moved, and generally fulfilled their dreams.



Mary, Dave, and Drew

Mary graduated from the University of San Diego Law School in May, took the California Bar Exam in July, found that she passed the exam just before Thanksgiving and was sworn in as a lawyer on December 7. The entire family is VERY proud of her, and share her giddy relief at passing one of the toughest bar exams in the country. They celebrated by christening her new sailboat (Dave’s gift to her) on Mission Bay. The customary Bar Trip (post exam regrouping) was a trip to Kauai. So Virginia, Mary, and Drew went for almost six weeks, with Joe, Dave, and Jon joining them at various times. Drew grew three inches between June and October. It may have been all that sand and sunshine. He was happiest standing on his head in two feet of water, or maybe eating a shave ice cone. Mary is now interviewing for very specialized positions as a patent attorney, possibly in biotech or high tech, and is filing patents on a free lance basis in the interim. Stay tuned.

Jon Drew Hess

Jon moved out of his bow-windowed Victorian in San Francisco after three murders occurred on his street in the first three months of the year. He spent the summer house sitting in rural southwest Virginia, working on his writing. Afterwards he went to the Burning Man Arts Festival in Nevada, and then joined the family in Kauai. Driving cross country twice was a side benefit. Since his return he has been working for a “white gloves” firm that downsizes affluent seniors, helping the residents decide what to keep, disposing of what they don’t, supervising the move. He notes that seniors are polite and pleasant, in contrast to many of the retail customers he encountered at the bookstore. He never knows where the job will take him, and he hears some fascinating life stories. He is going to Brazil in the New Year for a wedding, and who knows what his next stop will be. For now the guest room has returned to its roots—Jon’s room.


Joe

Joe began 2007 knowing that his job required too much travel. His territory included South America, a complicated market for high technology internet security. He went to Argentina and Brazil so often that two different cab drivers in Buenos Aires recognized him as a repeat customer. So in March he jumped, accepting a position with another company for more money and less travel. One month later the investors pulled the plug on the venture funding for Company #2, and laid off almost everyone. Joe spent a day playing golf with Jon, made a few phone calls, and had another job by day three, again falling on his feet. Company #3 implemented his suggestions and things improved so dramatically that he lost employees. So he gave Company #3 two months notice….and joined Virginia and the family in Kauai. Returning from Kauai in mid-September, Joe joined Company #4. Yes, Silicon Valley is thriving, but it is also volatile. The good news is that he is closer to home than he has been in 25 years—twelve minutes. Amid all this chaos, Joe attended his 30th reunion at Stanford Business School, and a submarine reunion in San Diego. He went sea kayaking on Cape Cod, took Virginia to Chile on vacation, and played more golf than in recent years. He looks forward to less travel in 2007, and the ability to plan life a little better. There may be a high school reunion in the White House this spring.

Virginia

What is her heart’s desire? To run her toes through the sand at the beach. This year Joe and Virginia spent two weeks in Chile in March, including ten days on long sandy beaches. (See above picture: a fishing village north of Vina del Mar.)They drove the fabled Pan American Highway to far northern Chile to stargaze in clear skies, and to see the Humboldt Penguin Preserve. Old friends from Rice joined them in Valparaiso to travel through Chile’s wine country and to explore Santiago. Everyone was impressed with Joe’s Spanish. Virginia was impressed with the varieties of Chilean fish.

In July they attended a wedding in Boston, followed by a week at their friend’s summer home on Cape Cod, in a town with eleven beaches. Later that month they were off to another beautiful wedding in San Diego. Virginia came home for a few days and then traveled to Sea Island, Georgia, with her mom and sister for a week of Georgia barrier island sand.

Virginia, Mary and Drew flew to Kauai a day earlier than planned, under threat of a hurricane. The next day they were under tsunami alert from an earthquake in Peru. Kauai is her new special place, with hidden beaches to explore and relatively little development. They cooked fresh fish every day, celebrated Andrew’s fourth birthday, and spent every morning snorkeling, digging in the sand, and looking for shells. They welcomed the rest of the family and several of Mary’s friends. Beach walks fed her soul, time with her family fed her heart.

Anchoring all of this travel was her continued membership on the board of the Association of Rice Alumni. She traveled to Houston in January, May, and September for meetings, and served on several task forces in between, notably one to increase awareness of Rice outside of Texas. She is helping plan a big reunion in 2008. She has completed more than a decade of fundraising for the American Cancer Society. Book club, bridge, gardening, Stanford football tailgates, all draw her into the community. She welcomed many visits from old friends and family, especially with Joe gone so much.
Plans for the New Year include baseball’s Spring Training with her Mom, a significant anniversary trip with Joe and a cruise with her sister and Mom in the fall. Not to mention quality time with Drew. She doesn’t miss working at all.