Memento

[stoutfellow]

In the process of cataloging my library, I just added a book on "Group Theory and Quantum Mechanics", by Michael Tinkham. When I opened the book, a sheet of letter paper fell out. It was a note from Bruce Gurney, who was my closest friend in high school; we stayed in touch for a few years afterward. He was studying physics at Caltech, and I, mathematics at UC Santa Barbara. He bought the book for me as a birthday present in 1977, reaching across the discipline boundaries.

I am going to try to believe that I read the note at the time and kept it in the book. I'd hate to think that I never opened my present!