Another thought triggered by the passing of Ann Richards

During the summer of 1968 I had just begun graduate school. An indication of my political leanings can be inferred from the fact that I would vote for Nixon in the coming November (Four years later I would cast a vote for McGovern, and in retrospect, I wish that I could have cast a million for him).

There were two assassinations that year: first, Martin Luther King, and then later, Robert Kennedy. After one of them, the second I believe, my future research advisor, who was from Massachusetts (at least he had gone to MIT) was emotionally devastated. It was the only time I saw him weep. At my young age, I was somewhat puzzled by this, although I think he was no more than a half dozen years older than I.

After nearly four more decades, and seeing more of the disappointments of life, his response makes a little more sense.