A letter from Thom Mayne
We debated over whether we should make this letter public or not. It is an unusual letter to "print" on our site, but George Yu is an unusual person.
A few of us here at L+L had the pleasure and honor to have had George as an instructor and, briefly, as a boss. What makes George so special is that, even though he has a fantastic abundance of "starchitect" talent, he remains a super-friendly, kind, down-to-earth guy who helps out, chats over a beer, and plays roller hockey whenever he has time. This combination of talent, success, and humility is very rare in our profession, in any profession, and we would like to salute George for being an absolute class act. Thank you, Thom, for emphasizing this point.
Continue to read the letter from Thom Mayne.
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Thom Mayne"
Date: June 14, 2007 3:01:53 PM PDT
Subject: FW: George Yu
Dear Friends of George & Carole & Dara & Elena:
When Blythe and I were younger we lived like so many people who work in the arts... We knew, somehow, that a family might not happen for us if we waited to start it until the "art" started to produce income. I remember talking to our accountant each year at tax time. He always asked the same question… "Have you started a college fund for your kids yet?" When they were 4 and 1 we would laugh lightheartedly. We were only 34 and 42 respectively…the world of money was someplace in the future. When they were 12 and 9 we would laugh, but a little less light-heartedly. We always said, "It will be there when it’s time". He politely told us that being relentlessly "glass-half-full" was nice, but maybe we should think about starting that plan soon. I remember Blythe saying to me, "he really doesn’t get it, does he?" Were we really so young and foolish? OK, I’m off the track here.
George Yu is only 42 now. His children are 12 and 6. He has the rudimentary start of a college fund in place for each child, but it is not nearly enough. George may have had the same idea that we had, and he would have been right… His time was coming – the world was catching on to his talent. The money would have been there for the kids by the time they were ready for college.
I think that the hardest thing for George, now that he’s at the end of his life, might be the knowledge that he’s leaving his children with some amount of financial uncertainty.
Blythe and I would like to encourage any and all of you who are able to join us in supplementing the college funds that already exist for Dara and Elena (each with less than 10K in them now). Below are instructions for how to make a donation to either or both accounts. For the sake of everyone’s privacy, we don’t want a role in this beyond setting up the path for people to follow if they choose to. You should know that Carole is not entirely comfortable asking for this assistance. When we discussed it, she said she’s leaned on her friends enough already. But I think that we would all agree that if we were in George’s situation we would want our community to come together for the sake of our children. George will not be here much longer.
If you are so inclined, I think it would be amazing for George and Carole to be flooded with pledges… A simple email to George and Carole saying how you feel about him, and how you are pledging to contribute "x" amount to Dara and Elena’s 529 plans would probably give him a measure of peace that no other gesture could provide. The plan is to flood their inbox with pledges between now and June 30. I know that all of us who can will. If you are a student or otherwise not in a position to contribute much, please know that even the smallest contribution will help add to the pot and will grow along with the other funds until the kids are able to use them. Below are the instructions for making a contribution. Call Blythe or me if you have any questions.
Best,
Thom & Blythe Mayne
Contact Land+Living for information on how to contribute.
A few of us here at L+L had the pleasure and honor to have had George as an instructor and, briefly, as a boss. What makes George so special is that, even though he has a fantastic abundance of "starchitect" talent, he remains a super-friendly, kind, down-to-earth guy who helps out, chats over a beer, and plays roller hockey whenever he has time. This combination of talent, success, and humility is very rare in our profession, in any profession, and we would like to salute George for being an absolute class act. Thank you, Thom, for emphasizing this point.
Continue to read the letter from Thom Mayne.
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Thom Mayne"
Date: June 14, 2007 3:01:53 PM PDT
Subject: FW: George Yu
Dear Friends of George & Carole & Dara & Elena:
When Blythe and I were younger we lived like so many people who work in the arts... We knew, somehow, that a family might not happen for us if we waited to start it until the "art" started to produce income. I remember talking to our accountant each year at tax time. He always asked the same question… "Have you started a college fund for your kids yet?" When they were 4 and 1 we would laugh lightheartedly. We were only 34 and 42 respectively…the world of money was someplace in the future. When they were 12 and 9 we would laugh, but a little less light-heartedly. We always said, "It will be there when it’s time". He politely told us that being relentlessly "glass-half-full" was nice, but maybe we should think about starting that plan soon. I remember Blythe saying to me, "he really doesn’t get it, does he?" Were we really so young and foolish? OK, I’m off the track here.
George Yu is only 42 now. His children are 12 and 6. He has the rudimentary start of a college fund in place for each child, but it is not nearly enough. George may have had the same idea that we had, and he would have been right… His time was coming – the world was catching on to his talent. The money would have been there for the kids by the time they were ready for college.
I think that the hardest thing for George, now that he’s at the end of his life, might be the knowledge that he’s leaving his children with some amount of financial uncertainty.
Blythe and I would like to encourage any and all of you who are able to join us in supplementing the college funds that already exist for Dara and Elena (each with less than 10K in them now). Below are instructions for how to make a donation to either or both accounts. For the sake of everyone’s privacy, we don’t want a role in this beyond setting up the path for people to follow if they choose to. You should know that Carole is not entirely comfortable asking for this assistance. When we discussed it, she said she’s leaned on her friends enough already. But I think that we would all agree that if we were in George’s situation we would want our community to come together for the sake of our children. George will not be here much longer.
If you are so inclined, I think it would be amazing for George and Carole to be flooded with pledges… A simple email to George and Carole saying how you feel about him, and how you are pledging to contribute "x" amount to Dara and Elena’s 529 plans would probably give him a measure of peace that no other gesture could provide. The plan is to flood their inbox with pledges between now and June 30. I know that all of us who can will. If you are a student or otherwise not in a position to contribute much, please know that even the smallest contribution will help add to the pot and will grow along with the other funds until the kids are able to use them. Below are the instructions for making a contribution. Call Blythe or me if you have any questions.
Best,
Thom & Blythe Mayne
Contact Land+Living for information on how to contribute.
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