Visiting Elizabeth

In Seattle we regularly visited with our dear family friend Elizabeth Boba. Her husband was Polish-Hungarian who immigrated to the United States and became a medievalist at the University of Washington. We had a great time listening to stories about her late husband Imre Boba, who lived in Hungry the first ten years of his life before going to live with relatives in Poland where he received an excellent secondary education. The outbreak of WWII sent him fleeing back to Hungry where he worked in the underground and was able to put his knowledge of Polish and Hungarian to use. Later he worked for Radio Free Europe where he met Elizabeth.


The kids immediately took to Elizabeth. Konrad started calling her Oma Elizabeth, which Zosia shorted to Oma.


Monday May 31st: One of the only gorgeous afternoons in Seattle, we went on a walk with Elizabeth and her son-in-law S.T. around the core of the University of Washington. Below you can the kids playing on the steps to the library.


A library that looks like a cathedral, the ultimate symbol of secular humanism.


Through the spray of water, you can see Jazz, S.T. and Elizabeth sitting on a bench near the fountain.


Several time we went to Elizabeth's house to visit. Jazz and I took turns watching the kids entertain themselves. Here they are on Elizabeth's upper deck, Konrad making hand prints using water from a puddle.


Another favorite activity was to play with the balloons left over from Elizabeth's 90th birthday party.