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first met Louis when he was 66. I was dating his daughter, Sarah, and was invited to the "Three Sutros" art show held at MIT, through Louis' connections to this university. Louis & I came from different worlds, maybe different planets, as he was the scientist and I, a humanist. But he always expressed patience trying to explain his work to me, who almost failed chemistry. I always respected his bravado of "let's figure it out," combined with his surprising honestly about what he called his failures.
He was very sprecial with Sarah and my son, Will. He would decent into the bowels of the basement and teach young Will how to hammer a nail, screw a screw, and shared wiring. Hours upon hours.
One point I will always remember was when Ruth & he still lived on Kingsbury Street and he must have been in his late 70s or early 80s. I drove up and found Louis up on the tallest ladder I have ever seen, precariously painting something at the very top of the roof. No one was at the bottom securing the ladder! I violated all his boundaries by screaming at him, "Louis, get down!" Thankfully, he decended.
He must have never acknowledged heights. In Ruth & his chruch, he was head of the Facilities Committee, I think it was called. He used to scramble up the steep ladder into the church belfry even into his mid-80s, until thetrap door up was locked to save him!
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