2nd
Remembering Hank
I met Hank Swan and Jan Sells at Tom’s Interdependence Day party in 2002. About six weeks later, I received a phone call that they were at Stanford Hospital nearby me. Hank had had a stroke, and Jan needed some logistical support. I saw Hank two times that Sunday, about four hours apart. And over that interval he’d improved materially; it seemed like a miracle!
Was it a warning that this precious time is always now, but never here again? I’d like to believe so; and that Hank lived the last six years of his life with added grace.
I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Hank at a special event that Jan organized for Jarvis Masters in 2004 — Jan was all over the room, coordinating and emceeing — Geri Redpath and Carole Pertofsky were my other table-mates. Did I luck-out, or what?
I imagine we were there together at the Gates of San Quentin the night they killed Tookie. I looked for Jan and Hank, but it was hard to see anyone who was not right around me; and everyone was packed together, so it was almost impossible to move around.
The encounter with Hank that stands out the most for me was one I had with him a couple of years ago, the last time we really had a chance to talk, when the subject turned to software. Hank had a mastery of the subject at a level that few people do; I had no idea of this beforehand! His uncanny lucidity of exposition just floored me. I’d read Fred Brooks signal work on the subject, The Mythical Man Month, at least 5 times and it felt like Hank was “channeling” Brooks!
I tried to get together with Hank several times after that; I’d hoped to discuss the odyssey of my current work with him. But time and distance conspired against it, and it didn’t happen.
I was stunned and saddened last August, when I heard that Hank was battling Prostate Cancer. I was able to stay apprised of his tenacious struggle, through email forwarded by mutual friends. Knowing what Hank was dealing with, it was a blessing to have the chance to see him surrounded by his community at a surprise concert Jan arranged for Hank at La Peña in late March.
Hank was characterized, on this beautiful evening, as being extremely generous — something I’d never disagree with — but in searching my feelings about him, the aspect that most characterized Hank for me was an uplifting quality he possessed that made you better than you were for being with him; what a rare and precious gift!
And I was, and am, truly grateful for this chance to check-in briefly with Hank and Jan and to see Hank surrounded by loving, caring friends: his family and community. Thank you Jan.
