1. We are fostering a seventh chinchilla, a sweet little boy who comes with the name “Chili.” (Just about the most popular name ever for chinchillas. If we keep him, we’re changing his name.) We rescued him from a very bad home situation where he was being abused; pictures to follow soon.
2. You can read more about the latest adventures of our chinchilla charity, the Matilde Mission, here. Check out a bunch of cute little ones who were saved from pelting by the kind donations of folks just like you. You can donate here.
3. My cousin Roan McClure runs a Hayward-based charity that raises money to distribute mangosteen fruit to folks suffering from HIV. I don’t know much about it myself, but family loyalty requires I send folks to his site to read more.
4. My father was of Jewish descent, raised a Catholic, and lived most of his life as an agnostic. (It’s no secret that dear Richard Mouw was my father’s first graduate student at the University of Alberta back in the mid-60s. They had some famous arguments about theology.)
It tickles me — his evangelical son — no end that the most significant tribute to my sweet father’s memory will come from the Westmont College’s music program. Under the direction of Professor Michael Shasberger, Westmont is commissioning a string quartet of world-class instruments to be named the Hubert Schwyzer Quartet, in honor of my papa’s long-time devotion to chamber music and to the arts in the greater Santa Barbara area. We don’t have a website up yet, but here’s the letter that’s going out:
We have a perfect way to honor Hubert’s passion for and devotion to
chamber music. Westmont College is commissioning a string quartet from
local violinmaker Jim Wimmer. Jim has already found the wood in Germany
and is getting started. The Westmont College music department is
enthusiastic about naming the quartet the Hubert Schwyzer Quartet. The
instruments as a group would continue to have this name even when the
musicians change.
The cost of the quartet is $55,000. We already have several donors, and we
thought you might want to join us.
If you would like to participate, please make your check out to Westmont
College. Send it to:
Michael Shasberger,
Music Department
Westmont College
955 La Paz Road,
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
Any amount will be gratefully received. Important! Make a notation that your check is for
the quartet commissioned by Jim Wimmer. A separate bank account has been
opened just for contributions to the quartet. Contributions are tax
deductible.
The quartet is to be finished by early 2008. We are looking forward to its
first concert!
I have a lot of good friends who went to Westmont (Westmonsters), and a lot of close ties to that community. I am thrilled by this plan to create this great tribute to my Dad, and my wife and I will be sending our check in soon.
I’ve heard about the almost-”miraculous” healing properties of mangosteen. However, after eating the real fresh stuff for the first time during my last trip to Bali, I need no prodding - they are THAT GOOD!
Hugo,
What a wonderful way to honor the memory of your dear father.__I still have your dad’s picture….it would have been an honor to have met him.
Mangosteens are indeed a delicious fruit, and unusual looking (to many of us here in N. America) to boot. I do wonder, though, about the quality of the research regarding their purported health benefits. I also think maybe more money (right now) should go toward getting appropriate drug cocktails to people with HIV+ status rather than to giving them juice. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have the juice in addition to medication, but I hate to see money being thrown into a cause that isn’t fully proven. At best, at least right now, I would guess that the juice should be supplementary to a drug regime.
Anyhow… thank you, Hugo, for sharing all of these things with us. That tribute to your father is just beautiful - what a lovely way to keep his memory alive.