Deep in the woods north of Manchester, I recently met Dr. Andrew Stangel, professor of History and Art History at the University of New Hampshire, European tour guide extraordinaire, and enthusiast of Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline. "Andy" is donating (to his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin) some of the rare books, prints, and military medals he has collected during 20 years living in Europe, and 35 leading art tours throughout that Continent. He began guiding tours for the US Forces in Europe in the 70s, and now does so for UNH alumni and others. When I mentioned my interest in it, Andy encouraged me to sign up for his tour - "I'm not one of those 'That aisle to the Mona Lisa, that aisle to the Winged Victory, and meet back here in a half hour!' kind of guides".
As Willie and Patsy alternated lamentations for lost loves from the kitchen, our art-handling crew packed up Andy's gifts, ably advised by the school's registrar, Andrea Selbig. Andy was intensely interested in how things were packed, and proclaimed awe at the care we'd taken with his things, and with our big, bright, new blue truck. He also regaled us with stories, one of which betrayed his deep love of the pun; after his Berkely apartment suffered a vicious 1970 earthquake in which his fishtanks almost toppled, he returned said tanks and occupants to the pet store, telling the owner, "The age of aquariums is over".
[I have a U-W connection also; my sister Sue is a U-W graduate and employee, and as I write this I proudly wear her gift of a "Wisconsin 1994 Rose Bowl Champions" sweatshirt. Christi doesn't like me to wear this aged garment outside the house, perhaps thinking that something so old could have only been retrieved from the Salvation Army. When I do, though, strangers will accost me with the latest Wisconsin athletic news, which is how I heard their men beat DUKE in basketball.]
After we finished packing and loading our truck, Andy snapped a photo of us all, which I hope will keep good company with his other 100,000-plus art-history pictures.
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