Arthur Smith, my old Latin master, taught me many words of wisdom. He claimed that the human brain is just like an attic where we store all our knowledge and experiences. Nothing ever “disappears” completely; it just gets hidden away in some dark corner up there, somewhere behind the cobwebs. You go looking for a Latin verb and what do you find?  The atomic weight of polonium!

Last weekend, I was studying the map of Scotland, planning for our summer trip.  I noticed a small village, Edzell.  I remembered having spent two nights there on a university field trip, way back in 1969.  And, suddenly, there he was ; Pete Moir, a student “acquaintance“ of mine from the geography class.  I didn’t really know him very well and I don’t believe I have ever thought of him during the last 40 years. I was looking for a nice homely hotel and what did I find, Pete Moir. He must have been there all the time, hiding behind the height of the Statue of Liberty. I wonder what else I can find up there in my vast maze of facts and figures. And, by the way, I was also reminded of what Arthur claimed to be his most important message to all his “boys”, “femina mutabile est”.  How right he was!

Graham

January 2014