Trish Hooper has one new book out, and another on the way Trish Hooper has one new book out, and another on the way (January 07, 2004)

By Marion Softky

Almanac News Editor

Anyone who thinks The Sequoias retirement complex in Portola Valley is home just for old folks fading gently into the sunset doesn't know Trish Hooper.

After 10 years at The Sequoias, the buoyant Ms. Hooper still energizes the committees that run the place, teaches English as a second language to employees, paints watercolors, and writes.

And writes. Her computer spins off words like a lathe spins off sparks. And not just two or three articles a month for the house newsletter. Ms. Hooper may be best known for 35 years worth of letters to the editor that have sharpened editorial pages of publications ranging from the Almanac and the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time and Newsweek.

Now she has published one book, and is working on another. "April in Paris" is an informal account of running a family household with four kids in Paris and other European cities off and on for 10 years, from 1957 to 1967.

The drama started in 1957 when John and Trish Hooper decided to get out of the rat race and move to Paris. Mr. Hooper, a lawyer, gave up his job; they sold their San Francisco house, keeping another in Woodside, and boarded a freighter. The party of seven included four children ranging in age from 3 to 12, and the indispensable Swiss au pair.

Over the years they coped with the challenges of raising children in half a dozen houses in Paris, as well as various venues in Switzerland and Italy, and at least one vacation in a chateau -- complete, she claims, with ghosts and green lizards.

"We moved so much," says Ms. Hooper in an interview. "In each arrondissement (district) in Paris, we discovered new food shops, new bakeries, new wine shops, and new people.

"A cheese shop was a world in itself; we drank wine we can't even look at in Beltramo's today," she continues. "Everybody's always interested in American families: What are you going to do to our neighborhood?"

Ms. Hooper writes cheerily of the everyday crises of water heaters, drains, gas leaks, elevators, and the people who fix them. The chapter on "Fuses and Art," for example, begins: "Ah! The challenges of electricity in Paris. One never knows which appliance will be rejected by the outlet of choice."

The Hoopers' odyssey took on glamour, as Mr. Hooper soon landed a job with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) helping to persuade 14 countries to work together on weapons systems. His efforts earned him the Pentagon's Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1960.

On the home front, the diplomatic dimension generated some amusing stories. Like the "dinner party from hell," involving Dutch, French, German and Greek couples. First the furnace exploded and the heat went off; then the heavy curtains fell down; finally, the main course and salad were delayed when the caterer's small deux chevaux car was hit in traffic.

Ultimately, the party was a great success, Ms. Hooper says. The nations worked together to fix the curtain, dawdled over the fish, drank lots of wine, and finally enjoyed the main course and reconstructed chocolate dessert. "It was a wonderful evening! NATO cooperation at its best," Ms. Hooper writes.

"April in Paris" features watercolor illustrations by Ms. Hooper, as well as numerous family photos. It is available at Kepler's books in Menlo Park.

Meanwhile, Ms. Hooper is busy working on her next book. She hopes that "A Political Odyssey," an account of her political journey from conservative Republican to current-administration critic, will make it into print before next year's presidential election.

"I don't like to see Republicans veering toward the right," she says. "I fear for the future of our democracy."

E-mail a friend a link to this story.