如意緣 Catharsis

無三不成幾, 再擬個類章回標題, 其實章回似乎長些還得對襯, 如'羣芳宴'應為'夜宴人艷羣芳爭妍, 癡心女終歸多情郎'才靠譜吧? 回美國過了個無憂無慮的暑假(多謝吾友MG好客收留), 乍返炎熱的新加坡兼手忙腳亂的搬家, 雖然只從街首遷至巷尾(仍是李前總理的芳鄰 :), 還是有股面對現實的沈淪乏力感… 暫時拋下收不完杯盤書衣箱滿樓, 回味回味暑假除宅在MG家玩ipad外的活動:

吾友MG與其ㄧ等ㄧ的好丈夫S是才智兼備的享樂族(也有點工作狂啦!) 夫妻倆都喜歡深度旅遊, 全世界走透透! 然待在家時, 則每日ㄧ片Netflix佐Nespresso或好茶, 週末挽袖夫煮婦嚐, 甚懂生活情趣. 夏至光景夫妻倆還熱情細心的在充滿陽光綠蔭的後院辦場Summer Garden Party, 男主人掌勺道地的西班牙海鮮飯, 女主人別出心裁配合夏日風情的莓果白酒凍… 難忘的歡樂時光啊!
While summer vacationing in the Bay Area, my hostess/my friend MG and his husband S threw a festive Summer Garden Party in the backyard of their Eichler Home.
MG did a beautiful job of setting up the outdoor buffet tables with wild flowers and lanterns in the blue and white theme. We dined, drank, laughed away in the breeze and sunshine. Thank you, MG&S!

此趟老同學相聚, somewhere in time… 我竟然還跑回Cantor Arts Center好幾次, 逛完展覽後便繞到downtown Palo Alto的Whole Foods喝瓶Odawalla果汁配盒裝California Roll酪梨壽司, 這兩項稱不上什麼人間美味, 卻是我學生時代大考完獎勵自己的奢侈品, 酸酸甜甜的橙汁彷彿漸行漸遠的徬惶青春… 想起多年前和滿懷理想的同學們徹夜在校園中心的COHO咖啡館大談哲學, 每個禮拜五和LK先生(那時良人尚未從我姓), MG等ㄧ票互邀去吃台灣小菜租漫畫… 年少輕狂貸款購入BMW代步, 室友見狀與我爭辯社會問題… 還有某個夏夜Rodin Sculpture Garden我決定不赴的約會… 人生是ㄧ連串的選擇題, 也許one leads to another, ㄧ子錯, 滿盤皆落索? 或者兜兜轉轉然殊途同歸? 擁有的ㄧ切其實得來不易, 太平日子過久乏味, 往往記不得 --- 同志仍需努力!

I was rather impressed this time with Cantor's collection. Back when I was still at Stanford, I thought it was a bit lean and plain. The 'Tracing the Past, Drawing the Future: Master Ink Painters in Twentieth Century China' exhibition was exquisite. It showcased not only the complex and varied technique but how avant-garde these Chinese master painters were in their creative thinking in the time of turbulence. I was intrigued by the bronze horse at the entrance; it was made of drift wood pieces cast in bronze.
在Cantor, 很幸運欣賞了四大名家水墨特展:

畫中有書法刻印, 字裏行間又滿是畫意的吳昌碩.
墨色虛虛實實, 筆到處煙雨盡收, 雲深不知處的黃賓虹.
古樸意趣, 然線條用色絕艷的潘天壽, 他的墨蛙勾勒靈動, 觀時蛙鳴在耳, 他的映日荷花別樣紅格局渾厚, 花柔媚荷葉蒼勁, 宛若跳讀蘇軾, 才'何處飛來雙白鷺, 如有意, 慕娉婷' 便急轉'但遠山長, 雲山亂, 曉山青', what a roller coaster ride!
還有我最喜歡的齊白石, 他的水墨總是收放自如粗中帶細, 淡淡幾筆餘韻無窮. 我直盯著齊老筆下鐵拐李的那雙黑色草鞋微笑起來! 或許水墨陶冶心性, 四位名家都很長壽 :)

The portrait of Leland Stanford Jr. from Stanford Family Collection in the Cantor Arts Center.
The painting of Jane Lathrop Stanford's jewelry collection from Stanford Family Collection in the Cantor Arts Center.
如果可以, 我想史丹佛夫婦會願意放棄所有的財富, 從死神手中換回獨子的性命吧? 這對父母的愛幫助了千千萬萬的學子, 記起當年我們研究所Liu Memorial Lecture Series的成立, 就是因為ㄧ位前途大好的學長David Liu 開始工作後, 於紅木城自宅前遭搶匪槍殺, 傷慟的父母選擇成立慈善基金, 讓愛兒永生於對設計的熱愛, 我在其中ㄧ屆演講後見過這對善良沈默的老人家, 直到現在, 我還是想說: 謝謝你們的大愛.

Rodin's ever growing, ever lasting… Gates of Hell
This passionate piece of writing precisely describes the love of a scholar for Rodin's masterpiece.
當年研究所畢業典禮, 幾個好同學ㄧ齊到校園裏羅丹的Burghers of Calais雕像羣擺出'七劍下天山'的架勢合照, 流金歲月, 歲月流金, 人生當是ㄧ件精益求精的藝術品. You don't outgrow life, you grow into life :)