Stan's
Place
by Judy Sullivan
One
of the favorite people of my life is Stan Thompson. Most of you locals
may remember Stan from the columns he wrote for the Sun-Bulletin
every week. What a unique, wonderful person, that Stan.
Stan
came to Morro Rock every Wednesday morning to visit with me. Always
dressed in a bright Hawaiian shirt, white slacks, and sandals, Stan
would smile and wave as he parked his little silver and tan
convertible. He would settle in on the boulder next to my car and we
would talk, work on one of my crossword puzzles together, and laugh
— a lot. If other people were visiting with me when he
arrived, Stan would join in the conversation. But he would also pace,
waiting for them to leave. Afterwards he would say, "Don't they know
this is MY Judy time?" He was a funny, sweet guy and always made me
smile.
Often
our subject of conversation was generally who he was writing about that
week. And this is the thing about Stan — he was so
enthusiastic about his work. He genuinely loved meeting all of the
people he wrote about in his columns. Stan treasured their life
stories. He admired people of all ages and interviewed high school
students as well as retired folks. His enthusiasm showed in his
writing. He was eager to let his readers know about the exceptional
people who were their neighbors — the people who make the
Central Coast such a great place to live. He did so with humor, grace,
and delight.
I
have to share this story with you. Several times, while driving along
South Bay Boulevard towards Los Osos in the morning, I would see a car
exactly like Stan's coming from the opposite direction. I would start
to wave, thinking first of Stan, only to realize, as the car neared,
that the person driving was a rather large woman with a huge blond
hairdo and bold makeup. (Ok, guy in drag!) In telling Stan about my
mistaken identity episodes, he responded — without missing a
beat and with a totally serious look, "That IS me." He made me laugh
then — and still does when I think of this.
As
travel writers and photographers, he and Vicki León, author
of the clever Uppity
Women
book series, took many trips. They went to the Peruvian Amazon as Earthwatch
volunteers and to Guatemala, where they lived with a local family while
Stan studied Spanish. Spain was often used as their base while going
off for visits to Egypt or Italy. A trip to India included two
fascinating train journeys through the country. They saw the world
together.
In
2007, Stan went to Africa with a group led by Tom Neuhaus of Sweet
Earth Organic Chocolates (now Mama
Ganache Artisan Chocolates).
After meeting up in Casablanca, they toured the cocoa-growing areas of
Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Staying in the villages with the people who
farmed the cocoa beans seemed to have had quite an impact on Stan.
After the trip, he talked especially about the children and how
terrific they were.
About
a month after Stan returned from Africa, he died while on his early
morning jog. It was a Wednesday. I was a bit surprised when he didn't
show up for our weekly visit and went home disappointed at not seeing
him. It was later that day when a friend called to tell me what had
happened. I cry as I write this. What a good, dear man. I will always
miss him.
About
a week after Stan's death I saw the woman in the convertible and,
knowing this obviously couldn't be him, I waved heartily anyway. Stan
would have laughed. Maybe he was watching from the spirit world and got
a good chuckle.
The
bottom picture on the right is of a little wooden bead doll Stan
brought to me from Africa. I keep it in the car to hold sometimes while
working on a crossword puzzle. While it has more and wilder hair than
Stan, the doll is a nice reminder of time spent with him.
It
is mainly in tribute to Stan that the Slo
Coast Journal was conceived. He
loved this community and the people in it. One of the things he shared
with me was how important it was that we all have a voice. He felt that
we should always be reminded of how fortunate we are to live here,
because we often take our place for granted. We in small communities
have something to hold on to — the ability to know our
neighbors and to understand how we all contribute to the lives of each
other. Stan enabled that through his columns. Hopefully we at the Journal
will continue, in our own way, that service to you.
I'm
no Stan Thompson. I can't write like he did or capture that warmth and
generosity of spirit he shared through his columns. But others will be
here to continue to introduce you to your neighbors. When you read
these pages, please think of our Stan and smile.
Judy
Sullivan
Slo Coast Journal Owner & Publisher
Stan
Thompson, Our Friend &
Inspiration
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