Memory
The Fleet-footed Professor
[Written in 1970]
Last night I almost caused a traffic pileup while driving home from the office. Along the highway I saw a shirt-sleeved friend, briefcase in hand, walking briskly toward his home, over a mile away. My first impulse was to slam on the brakes and offer him a ride.
Then I remembered that he likes to get out and walk like a schoolboy to and from his office. He is also known to enjoy competing in foot races with his college students. At times he seems thoroughly to love being a boy again, though his hair is silver and his reputation as an eminent chemist circles the globe. His name is Henry Eyring.
Dr. Eyring has conquered many frontiers in chemistry. I have seen him take a complex, even frightening, subject in his field and in a lecture make it readily understandable to us laymen. More than that, his talks on science and religion can be as refreshingly exciting and elevating as a high ride on a ski lift. Perhaps a reason is that he can put aside his cares and lose himself in boyhood bliss.