John Muir may be the only naturalist to literally walk around the world and visit all the Earth’s continents except Antarctica. Even after his death (1914) his spirit continues to roam around the globe inspiring countless millions to seek spiritual renewal in nature.
One of these spiritual jaunts involved visiting St. Helena before returning to his birthplace in Dunbar, Scotland.
During one of our back-to-school-nights for parents, one of the dads (Dr. Robert Hampton), was impressed with our reading list. He was particularly intrigued with, “The Wilderness World Of John Muir,†edited by Teale. Evidently he read the book and, like millions of others, became a fan of Muir.
D’r. Hampton was a highly skilled dentist as well as a gifted sculptor, painter and outdoor enthusiast. After hearing the students’ post-Yosemite papers, he became an ardent supporter of our program. In fact, he became so involved that he decided to embark on a project that would change my life, future Biodesign Classes and the lives of many others.
I was totally unaware of the project, but he began sculpting a clay bust of the legendary Muir. Evidently he was making good progress until he got to Muir’s nose. He was stymied for a while until a chance visit to his neighbor, Don Heydlauff, a local restauranteur. Upon seeing him, he was shocked to see that he had the perfect nose that he was looking for. Heydlauff was amused and agreed to pose for the necessary time to get the nose sculpted perfectly.
The finished bust represented a youngish looking Muir with a windswept beard. He was so pleased with the result that he delivered the bust to a foundry and had three bronze copies made.
He mounted each bust on a small block of polished black granite with such stunning results that he prominently displayed one rendition at his dental office.
At the end of the school year, I was profoundly touched to receive one of the busts as a gift. Of course, I proudly displayed the treasure on the desk in my school office.
Two years later, Dr. Hampton’s daughter enrolled in the Biodesign Class. Her dad joined The Class on their Grand Canyon trip and offered valuable perspectives from a naturalist/artist.
After her graduation, she joined her dad on a pilgrimage to John Muir’s birthplace in Dunbar, Scotland. The purpose of the mission was to explore Scotland and take along the third bust of Muir to donate to the small museum located there. The docents were overjoyed to receive such a monumental gift.
After I retired, the bust was relocated to the desk in my office aerie where he can keep an eye on my scribblings.
Meanwhile, Dr. Hampton sold his St. Helena dental practice and semi-retired in Napa to allow more time to pursue his artistic passion.
About the same time, my wife and I were getting on and cleaning our old, two-story home was becoming more challenging. I mentioned this to a friend and she replied, “Theresa†is a wonderful domestic service provider and so we contacted her to see if she were available. She agreed and we became a regular client.
One day, I was working in my office when she entered to do some dusting. Mysteriously, she pointed at Muir’s bust and began giggling. Over many years Muir’s bust evoked a myriad of comments, but none involved humor. Of course, I was perplexed, but her clever plot deepened when she said, “I know where Senor Muir’s twin brother is.â€
Now things were bordering on bizarre so she offered an explanation. “Dentista Hampton is a client of mine and each time I clean his casa in Napa, I dust off the “brother†of the one you have here.â€
We both enjoyed a good laugh and the event became a situation that evoked the proverbial question; “What are the odds?â€
The African people have a delightful expression for situations like these, “God is playing with us.â€Â Â