Memories from Katja Langenbrucher
Dearest John,
Klaus Günther has forwarded me your email - so very hard to believe, after having met you for coffee only some weeks ago, seems like yesterday. I have been crying quite a bit over this e-mail but this is not what you are interested in and right you are!!
We haven’t met all that often, have we - but it was always so much fun! First, when you introduced yourself and we decided to co-teach a class in Frankfurt’s LLM in legal theory program. I remember telling my assistants about this English guy who seems really nice and how fun it would be to teach a class together on the reasonable person and the reasonable investor! Second, meeting on a very rainy day in London’s Victoria & Albert museum to figure out what we would be teaching - and then we did teach this class! I have only good memories about it, fun students and seeing, experiencing your incredible, quick, challenging, fascinating and funny brain at work … And, of course, third, when you brought Audra over in Frankfurt. How we had planned a relaxed dinner at our house and how, suddenly, Lorenz invited himself (and others!) to join - and even ‘little’ Audra thought this was remarkable :-) … turned out to be a nice evening, after all! And, fifth, how the next time around, we made secret plans before to sneak out separately to meet up for dinner without Lorenz inviting himself in, haha! Of course, sixth, how you allowed my son Julius to bother you with tons and tons and tons of questions about philosophy, he couldn’t believe his luck to be introduced to a real philosopher teaching at Oxford. Then, seventh - we met for a very quick coffee while I was at a economists’ conference at Oxford … quick coffee and you were very much looking forward to spending the day with Audra … I don’t remember why exactly but it was a very special day … father’s day? And, eighth, we had plans to send Annika over to Germany - and I hope that this will happen. Probably not this year, but maybe next. Or the year after. We would love to have her and help her keep up her German. And Audra, too, of course, and Jenny, too, of course. Please, don’t hesitate for a second to get back to us.
Yes, face the music and dance, dance! Irving Berlin and also Nietzsche - „Ich würde nur an einen Gott glauben, der zu tanzen verstünde“ (I would only believe in a god who knows how to dance).
I hope to see you again soon and refuse to think anything else.
So many hugs,
Katja
