W. K. H. "Pief" Panofsky, 1919 - 2007

From Peter Rowson                 
Following the first year of SLC operation with a polarized electron beam in 1992, our analysis team from the SLD experiment had made a measurement Following the first year of SLC operation with a polarized electron beam in 1992, our analysis team from the SLD experiment had made a measurement of the left-right asymmetry in Z production (ALR). However, a troubling discrepancy in the overall sign of this asymmetry (expected to be positive) appeared to be arising from somewhere - theoretical calculations or experimental procedures - and we labored for some time to figure out the problem. One possibility arose from the sign conventions and easily confused calculations sensitive to the handedness of circularly polarized light, either right- or left-handed. So we checked a number of text books and indeed found disagreement. The famous E&M textbook "Panofsky and Phillips" differed from the equally famous tome, "Landua and Lifshitz". So I wandered over to Pief's office for the first time, nervously introduced myself (at the time a young Asst. Prof.), and wondered if he might spare a minute to have a look at the problem. He graciously spent over 30 minutes of his time listening attentively to the issue, then going over the calculation he made decades earlier - good naturally eager to help on this rather mundane problem. And sure enough - he found that Landau and Lifshitz had a sign error. It turned out that the problem, soon solved, was due to a different incorrect sign assumption (clarified for us, by the way, by Sid Drell), and the integrity of the ALR measurement was established - but I'll always remember my few precious minutes with the Master, his warmth and interest and concern - my only significant time alone with Pief.               

 From Les Cottrell                 
     I came to SLAC in 1967 fresh out of getting a PhD in Nuclear Physics at Manchester University England. At Manchester the relationship with the head of the physics department was very arms-length, and I do not believe I ever talked to him. At SLAC within 2 weeks I was invited to a meeting at Pief's home (at that time, he had regular evening meetings on High Energy Physics that he hosted at his home) and I met him  face-to-face. It was not just a brief formal handshake, but we had a conversation where he asked me about my recent experiences and I remember being so impressed I blurted out the pleasant comparison to my previous experience at Manchester. I also recall soon after arrival my wife and I were coming back from a trip to the Sierras and decided to stop off at the Delta and see the birds, etc. Whom should we see there but Pief and Adele. I waved "Hi" and was wonderfully surprised when he replied and without hesitation knew my name. I was part of the End Station A Inelastic Scattering experiments that later were rewarded with the Nobel  Prize. We were running shifts and I recall in the evenings, long after normal work hours, Pief would come by and chat at length with the physicists on shift concerning progress and results so far. More recently, in 1990, Pief had invited Chinese physicists from IHEP in Beijing to discuss building a storage ring like  SPEAR and a detector to go with it. I was asked to talk with them about computing and networking requirements.               
     At the meeting they invited me to visit to help set things up. Unsure whether this was just a polite gesture  or whether I would be able to help (bear in mind this was less than a year after the Tiananmen Square massacre) I went to talk to Pief to ask advice. Pief stepped away from his desk to a couch in his office and sat me down in an armchair opposite. He then went on to say he wanted this collaboration not to be just in name for prestige, but to be very effective in producing excellent physics. As such he encouraged me to go and made sure the wheels were put in place. I mentioned that they did not even have a phone with automatic international dialing (all calls having to be made through a a human operator). He called Nobel prize winner T. D. Lee, who had a lot of influence in China, and when I arrived in China two weeks later, lo and behold there were two just-installed phone lines with automatic International access. The trip was an enormous success: we managed to get dial-up computer access to SLAC, and out of that, a couple years later extended it to the first permanent Internet access to mainland China              

From Vernon Brechin                 
 Around 1995 I met Pief briefly to ask him some questions about the past U.S. peaceful nuclear explosions program known as Project Plowshare. He provided me with some guidance and encouraged me to continue researching some of the little known facts about this program that he had some knowledge of. I've always admired his insight into the threat such explosives pose to all humanity.

From John R. Ashton        
Pief was a gentleman and a scholar and I've said before, an egalitarian who treated people as equals. My first meeting with Pief was in his office in the 70's. Dick Neal, Ken Crook and others were there to talk about problems with LEEP (Laboratory Electronic Equipment Pool) relating to funding, etc. I was very much impressed with how Pief did other "chores" and kept up with the discussion. Funds were made available to buy some new electronic equipment. Tales to tell: Tony Benedetti (deceased) was working in the Klystron Test Lab. He told about a day back in the 60's when he was working on top of a modulator and dropped a tool. A man happened to be walking by. Tony said, "Hey, shorty can you pick up that wrench?" The man stooped over and pitched the tool up to Tony. Of course, the man was Director Panofsky. I have written examples of how Pief treated employees.

1. A memo written March 2, 1982           
   John,           
   I want to thank you for your bar tending efforts at the Buck Estate last Friday night. Since official relations between the Soviet Union and the United States are very tense, we wanted to demonstrate that the human relations among people interested in science are just as good as they always were. You helped to make this possible.           
   With many thanks, Pief

2. Memo written December 8, 1983           
   John Ashton,           
   The US-PRC talks held at the Buck Estate in November were very successful. It is the nature of these international meetings to require a coordinated effort by SLAC staff members. I would like to extend my thanks for your contribution. I appreciate your assistance in serving the liberations, which were such a pleasant aspect of this event. In addition, your efforts toward the special radio link needed to assure prompt and reliable communication between SLAC and the Buck Estate are greatly appreciated.           
                     Thank you very much, Pief

   From Robert Hettel               
    I first met Pief in late 1966 or early 1967 when my high school physics class took a field trip to SLAC. The bus took us down near End Station A, a mighty vision to us all back then, and we were greeted by this little hobbit-like gentleman with incredible energy and warmth. He was so pleased to tell us about SLAC and to show us the new spectrometer system in ESA -- another vision of fantastic proportions for us teenagers back then.    
   
   From David Hitlin               
    In the early seventies at lunch in the cafeteria I asked Pief, who was, of course, always either heading for or returning from the airport, how many miles he had flown. His answer was "Twenty five percent of a mean free path."

   This answer has always, for me, encapsulated Pief perfectly. It was amusing, serious, and to the point. He knew the number of accidents per passenger mile, and therefore could answer the question in the most relevant units.

   Editorial note: For non-physicist readers, the "mean free path" of a particle is the average distance it covers between collisions.       
   
   From Herman Winick            
   I came to Stanford, not SLAC, in 1973 with a two-year contract to take charge of the technical design, construction, and commissioning of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Project (SSRP), a parasitic activity undertaken to exploit the radiation emitted when SPEAR operated for high energy physics research. SSRP was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore whether synchrotron radiation from a multi-GeV storage ring would be useful scientifically. Since this had never been tried, it was considered a risky venture, and NSF limited its commitment to two years and $1.2M. Having spent 14 years as an accelerator physicist at the Cambridge Electron Accelerator laboratory at Harvard University, I wrote to Pief asking if SLAC would take me on if SSRP was not successful. Pief's response, included below, was masterful in its encouragement for me to come to Stanford, without making a real commitment by SLAC. The warmth that came through in this letter helped me make the decision to come. Shortly after I arrived, Pief invited me and my wife, Renee, to his home and to dinner at a Mexican restaurant with him and Adele. This led to a growing relationship, strengthened when we both began activities relating to the Middle East; Pief's involvement with arms control issues and my involvement with the SESAME Project (www.sesame.org.jo), which is building a synchrotron radiation facility in the Middle East. I benefited greatly from Pief's insights and advice in our many discussions in his office up to his last week at SLAC. I regarded him as a friend and a Stanford, SLAC, and national treasure.

   ... Response from Pief ...

   June 7, 1973 ...       
   I am glad to hear through Sebastian Doniach and from you directly that you are now considering the offer to join SSRP, extended by Professor Doniach, most seriously. This letter is to indicate SLAC's intent to offer you a position similar to the one offered to you at SSRP, should the SSRP contract terminate. Naturally such an offer on our part cannot be binding since financial support of SSRP is now assured for about two years and continuing extensions are anticipated; therefore the financial situation at SLAC is difficult to predict at the time at which this "backup" offer might become relevant. Therefore I can only assure you of our "best efforts" to secure such a suitable position of equivalent duties and salary as you are now being offered at SSRP. I hope, however, that this letter will help you make a favorable decision towards joining SSRP, and it certifies to the high opinion which everyone at SLAC has as to the important contributions you can make, both to SSRP and SLAC.       
   
   With best personal regards,      
   W. K. H. Panofsky      
   Director    
   
    

From Joel Primack               
 When I first arrived at SLAC as a new grad student in the summer of 1966, I was assigned to a shared office on the ground floor of Central Lab. One Saturday soon after I started there, a short man dressed informally in a plaid shirt and jeans wondered in. Since he looked like a janitor, my roommate pointed out that the wastebasket had not been emptied and was overflowing. Without a word, the man emptied the wastebasket and returned it. Only later did we find out that he was Pief, and that it was quite normal to find Pief checking up on things anywhere at SLAC at any time.

Several years later, after one of the many weekly seminars at Pief's house, I asked him why he had so little art on the large walls, since his father was a famous art historian. Pief told me that he had been dragged through too many art museums as a child!

From Tineke Graafland           
 I knew Pief during my 28 years at SLAC (1967-69, and 1974-2000). I don't remember when I actually met Pief but it was sometime during my first year. I was immediately impressed by Pief's kindness and interest in what my role was at SLAC. Pief reminds me of stories I heard about my father, who was strict yet honest. As the Dutch say "Recht door zee" (straight through the sea). I did not have the privilege of knowing my father as I was only 4 when he died in a German concentration camp (righteous gentile for hiding Jews in the Netherlands). But back to Pief: there are many moments which stand out in my mind; especially when early in my employment Pief and I rode the elevator together and Pief asked me to once again tell him my name. He then said how much it bothers him that often he could not remember people's names, yet people remember his name. I told him that there was only one of him, but many of us. To which he replied that such was not an excuse, and to never hesitate to remind him of my name! Pief was never too proud to give a hug!         

From Stephen Rock           
 I was a visiting physicist at SLAC since 1976 working on End Station A experiments. I first met Pief at a meeting in his office when he was resolving competing claims for beam time between an experiment I was involved in and another. I was very impressed with his probing questions, including determining if there were enough people to do the experiments (he decided in my favor). In about 2000 I invited Pief to be one of the first speakers for the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center's new TV series 'Other Voices'. (First Tuesday of every month at 7PM on Community Access TV in Palo Alto Area.) I had just heard Pief give a a talk at SLAC about the problems of dismantling Nuclear and Chemical Weapons. Even thought the program is primarily for political presentations, I thought Pief could provide a scientific education and basic information for the mostly non-technical audience. He brought along the usual pile of slides that are typically used during SLAC talks. This was a technical challenge for the volunteer TV crew who were used to focusing on a single speaker. It went very well. Pief said he was nervous before the presentation, which surprised me since I assumed he was very experienced in public appearances. He was also very interested in knowing how many people watched the program (we did not know).

This summer (2007) I was director of the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program at SLAC. I thought it would be good for the students to hear about how physicists can apply their skills to public science issues. I asked Pief if he would give them a talk on Arms Control. Despite bad health, he wanted to give the talk. I was told that it was very important to him to reach the younger generation and convince them to carry on his important work. He said if only one student was convinced, it would be worthwhile. There were many questions and Pief offered to have a continuation in his office the next week. About 7 students came for a wide-ranging discussion. The students then took the initiative and arranged another meeting with Pief the next week. I was very impressed that despite serious health problems, he devoted so much of his limited time and energy to pass on the message that physicists must take an active role to help humanity survive and prosper.

From Vergne Brown          
Shortly after I was hired as a SPEAR operator ('76) a compact, serious fellow entered the control room. "The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!" he exclaimed. The twinkle in his eyes betrayed his serious expression, which dissolved into that now-familiar smile. Sure enough, he was followed quickly by four or five jovial Russian physicists. This simple act did more to relieve my lingering Cold War jitters than all the orchestrated "detente" combined.     

From Yo Wackerman          
When I came to work at SLAC in 1994, it was not my first time on these grounds. I used to accompany my father, Andy Crabtree, when he worked here back in the early 60's. I was a young teenager then, and the road leading off Sand Hill was dirt. When I told my dad I was coming to work at SLAC he was quite pleased. He had been one of Pief's students, and later went to work at Hansen Labs and then on Project M, which turned into SLAC. He always treasured those early years of working at this special place and I knew that my dad greatly admired Pief. One day, after I'd worked here about a year, I saw Pief outside his office in the Central Lab. I approached him a bit timidly; although he was a small man he was like a giant in my mind. I told him who I was, and asked him if he remembered my father who had worked for him, at that time, 30+ years ago. Pief looked at me kindly and said, "Yes, I do remember Andy!" Later, when I told my dad of my conversation, we both marvelled at Pief's amazing memory. Whenever I would see Pief again after that, I felt a special connection to the man.

From Gary Feldman          
 The psi was discovered at SPEAR on the weekend of November 9-10, 1974. The discovery did not require any elaborate analysis -- it was obvious from just looking at the online event display. When the SPEAR energy was set precisely to the psi mass, the event display, which normally showed mostly cosmic rays going through the detector, came to life and displayed annihilation events as fast as the computer could process them. Pief came down to the SPEAR control room, watched the event display for a few minutes, and commented, "My God, what we have been telling people about e+ e- annihilation all this time is actually true!"

From Alan Lazarus          
 I was Pief's graduate student from about 1954 to 1959. I met him through being a student and then grader for his E&M class.

My thesis topic was on photoproduction of pi mesons at small angles to an incoming beam of photons.. The measurements required many hours of data taking at HEPL. Pief would frequently come during all-night runs to cheer me on and to peer into the oscilloscope that would show qualities of the measured events at the frustrating rate of one per several minutes. But he stayed at night as long as he could, and I remember well the occasions when he was silent for long intervals during which he clearly had fallen asleep. He would start awake and then ask a probing question! As a supervisor of other students in the future, I appreciated what his support meant and required from his busy day.

Another vignette: when my thesis work was done, and I was writing it up, I decided to use the relatively new computer facility next door to the HEPL to check the importance of the photoelectric term we were searching for at small angles to the incoming photon beam. It turned out that through interference with another term, its effect had been visible for several years in the past. What a shock! To Pief too. When I showed him my results, his response was "I don't believe it!"

From Richard Wilson          
 Like most physicists of his era Pief understood the effectsof radiation on people. While walking past the technicians having coffee at the Mark III accelerator in 1952, Pief was asked: "does radiation cause infertility?" As a man with 4, shortly to be 5 children, Pief replied promtly: "Don't count on it." 

From David Perlman          
 As a reporter for the SF Chronicle and as early as 1965 I watched Pief as he adroitly defeated the combined forces of House Atomic Energy Committee Chairman Chet Hollifield, Congressman-to-be Pete McCloskey,plus a slew of Nevada politicians and Woodside residents to secure SLAC's location precisely where it is, and then to complete it on time and on budget for -- as far as I know -- the first time in the history of federal construction projects. Ever since then he was for me a never-failing, patient and friendly guide to high-energy physics and to all the complex issues of nuclear arms control. Bless him!

From Judy Rennick         
I was hired for my first full time job as the receptionist in the Director's Office of Pief Panofsky in 1966. I was only 18 years old then, but I can still see Pief's smiling face practically running for his office every morning.. One day I couldn't help but laugh to myself because as he quickly walked by his shirt collar was frayed and trailed out behind his neck with the speed of his advancement. Although, I am not versed in Physics I learned a lot just being in that environment surrounded by so many gifted individuals. It is a time in my life I will never forget.

From Alan Wilmunder         
 When my wife and wanted to celebrate our 50th anniversary the place most appropriate for our guests and the Black Tie Jazz Orchestra was the Faculty Clubhouse. Unfortunately I was not a member but I knew who was. I was told that my sponsor would have to be responsible in case I damaged anything or left bills unpaid. I dropped in on afternoon and asked Pief if he would be my sponsor. He had a very serious look on his face as he carefully looked me up and down. Finally he nodded. "You don't seem like much of a flight risk." He called and we had a wonderful party.

From Al Ashley         
 I came to SLAC as the Minority Employment and Training Representative on July 15, 1968, not long after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Over the course of sixteen years while under Pief's leadership, I had countless discussions with him regarding employment issues and community concerns. During our conversations, he was often several steps ahead of me as he seemed able to provide an answer even before I asked the question.  

Pief was a brilliant individual, a leader in the scientific world and remarkably rare as a man of great compassion and understanding. Pief was a true humanitarian far ahead of his time who made impact on the world in the areas of human and civil rights. Among his extensive activity in the community, Pief served as the first co-chair of the Stanford Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition that helped launch minority-owned small businesses, and also worked on related educational, health and housing issues.  

In 1984, I organized a farewell retirement reception to honor him with the Black Association of Stanford Employees and the Black Community. He touched us all and we continue to consider him a national treasure.   

From Abi Soffer          
 In late 2003, I approached Pief about giving a lecture on the history of SLAC, as part of a YPP (Young Particle Physicists organization) lecture series. Pief wanted to make sure to prepare his lecture so that it would be interesting to the audience, so we met several times to discuss the topic and the contents of the lecture. During these conversations, it was a joy to talk to Pief about SLAC and his view of science in general. I quickly discovered that behind his famous, engaging smile was an equally charming and gracious personality. Talking to him simply made you happy, even optimistic. At the same time, his energy gave one a strong sense of authority. At one point during our conversation, Pief made the point that an important lesson to be learned from the history of the SLAC linac was that the scientific motivation for building it had very little to do with the discoveries that eventually made it a success. As now, in 2003 there were much discussion and uncertainty about the future of particle physics and whether there was sufficient justification to build the International Linear Collider. Hearing Pief bring up this lesson from the history of SLAC, I just had to take advantage of the golden opportunity I was given, and to employ the wisdom of the past for looking into the crystal ball of the future. So I asked Pief whether we could apply this lesson to the ILC, secretly hoping he would say yes and thus make the dollars flow instantly. Unfortunately, I don't remember Pief’s exact words, but I do remember that his answer was measured and scientifically sound. While SLAC's case is a lesson worth learning, he said, there is no way to prove that the pleasant surprises of the past would repeat themselves in any specific future facility. Pief induced optimism, but it was realistic optimism. I realized that in this brief encounter with Pief I got a glimpse of both the gracious man who indulged a much younger physicist in a friendly conversation of equals, and the careful scientist and science policy maker whose life and work opened the way to the great discoveries and the community that is SLAC. I’m sure that this legacy will continue to impact physics, science policy, and the lab for many more years.

From Nina Adelman Stolar          
 I worked with Pief in the late 70's and throughout the next couple of decades, and found him to be a very approachable leader of the laboratory. I first worked with him to complete paperwork for all visitors from Appendix C countries. This gave me frequent opportunities to stop in, and Pief used these visits to educate me on many aspects of life at the Lab and throughout the world. He truly embodied the open door policy (so often given lip service at most companies these days) – and with him it swung both ways. When he needed something, Pief stepped out of his office and explained his concern to the first person he encountered. Often we would have to do a bit of legwork to find someone who understood and could fulfill his request. His close colleague Bill Kirk often handled these requests, and Bill, too, was always available to hear complaints, concerns, etc. from anyone at the lab.

We had amazing experiences dealing with visitors from the then-USSR and, as relations were opened up, with those from the People's Republic of China (PRC) as well. Of all the Accords established with the PRC, the one in high energy physics was the only one to be fully implemented. This meant MANY delegations of administrators and MANY scientific exchanges - and very many banquets. Each visit involved one banquet hosted by SLAC followed by a reciprocal banquet hosted by the visiting delegation.

Pief often suggested one us should be writing up these experiences as “the Great American Novel.” He was sure there was at least one book in our many activities and events as the course of the world changed around us. He called these events “windows to the world.” He could always look at things from multiple perspectives. Many times he would explain a situation to me from my point of view, contrast that with the view of the State Department, and then counterpoint both with the view from the other government involved. More than just providing the bigger picture, he could succinctly elucidate the complexities of a situation, and yet make very clear what needed to be done next.

Both Pief and Adele enjoyed Halloween trick-or-treats in full regalia, birthday parties with balloons and other simple joys in life. Pief was very observant of details: one Halloween when I dressed as a military pilot he gave me a book to carry. It was calculations on advisable altitudes to be used when dropping nuclear bombs!

Another time, my husband and I took a camping trip to Yosemite with a group of visiting scientists from the PRC. Pief loaned us some vintage camping gear to round out our supplies. We ended up taking a second trip, as other visiting scholars heard about the misadventures of the first group!

Pief was a brilliant man and this included being a tremendous human being. Like anyone, he had his biases and preferences. Unlike others, these did not interfere with his building good relations with individuals and transcending international boundaries.       

From Andrew Mark Crabtree          
 I first met Pief while I was a research tech at the Mark IV laboratory on campus, also as an engineering student at Stanford. After graduating, I continued on at the Microwave Lab and transferred into "Project M" and SLAC, where I remained until after the construction was completed. My story is:

I was very privileged to be a student in the last class in Freshman Physics that Pief taught at Stanford. He loved his subject so much that you couldn't help but get excited about it yourself. His enthusiasm was so great that on one occasion he jumped up on the long counter at the front of the auditorium and strode up and down as he lectured to his class.

It was while I was working at the Microwave Laboratory that I was became one of the early members of the "Project M" team. I still recall the bi-weekly meeting he would have in order to review the progress of what was going on in order to keep everyone up to date on the progress that was being made.

From Ellie Lwin      

Open Door

My first encounter with Pief was in 2000. I was working down the hall from Pief for Tom Himel, when Tom was Director of Research. Somehow we lost Tim Toohig, who was visiting SLAC with John O'Fallon. A fellow called a second time from Germantown asking anxiously for Tim, so I hunted the halls. From his desk, Pief could see into the hall passageway and sighted my troubled expression. With both arms raised, he waved me in, and asked, "What worries you?" His assistant, Nancy Hendry was in his office also, with pad and pen. Apparently, Pief and Nancy were in the middle of something, but at his invitation,I explained my troubles, and Pief suggested "some good hiding places for DOE types" where I might find Tim Toohig, and he proved correct.

Fours years later, when I myself became Pief's assistant, I had many direct experiences in Pief's open door policy. My office was situated in front of Pief's, but I was never much of a gatekeeper. Long-time SLAC folks of course knew the way we did it, but more often than not, I had to encourage folks to proceed ahead. I was always taken by the hesitation that even the most senior visitors showed to Pief, knowing he would be busy.

My favorite story is of Sasha Skrinsky, who visited SLAC in 2006 and appeared at my doorway. When I looked up, he made a smart bow to greet me and said, "I just want to look at him (gesturing an arm toward Pief), I want to look at my Panofsky!"

Coffee

When I began working for Pief, I made coffee in the office (per Peet's methods of drip brewing) for Pief and myself. After about 4 months, Pief mentioned off-handedly that his doctor discouraged his "poison" consumption, so I promptly removed the coffee paraphenalia and stopped making coffee.

I took to having coffee in another office, so as not to tempt Pief. On his last day, I slid back into my chair midmorning with what I always thought was a rather convincing nonchalance. Pief came up to me with that smile of his, and said," Drinking again?"

In mid-2006 when Pief was home recovering from surgery to both legs, we worked at the house. As the surgery had been major and one incision had not yet healed, Pief had some real difficulty walking. (I suppose I need not mention that we worked anyway.) From the study of the Panofsky house, I heard Pief trying to get around in the kitchen. I found him looking through cupboards and holding onto countertops and the table for support. I volunteered to aid in the search and to make a sandwich or whatever he wanted.

"No, that's quite alright," Pief answered, "you take care of your cats and dogs and I'll take care of mine." I went back to the study to work, listening uneasily the whole while to sounds of effort in the kitchen. It must be one heck of a sandwich, I thought. About 10 minutes later, Pief appeared in the study --- with a somewhat sloshed cup of coffee he had drip-brewed for me.

Friendly Persuasion

Dick Taylor has spoken of Pief's "method of friendly persuasion." How I came to work for Pief certainly demonstrates the effectiveness of that method.

When the position in his office became open, Pief asked that I apply. I labored two hours on a letter declining his generosity. In truth, I was afraid of the depthless loss that I indeed felt when the day came. Then at age 85, Pief was in the winter of his life, though a glorious winter at that. I sent my letter; Pief did not reply. A week later, I found to my horror that I was approaching him in the hall. He saw I was coming, and stopped and waited. When I got within range, he beamed his wonderful bemused smile at me, and asked, “So, who’s winning?”

Such hallway encounters went on for the better part of 6 --for me, miserable—weeks. "Who's winning?" “What’s the score?" I never had a clever answer, or even a sufficient one. On two occasions, Pief even came over to my cubicle and gave me work to do.

Then one day about six weeks after my pathetic letter, Diedre Webb from Human Resources called and said Pief requested that I meet him in his office at an appointed time. (Please grant there were Pief-waivers in hiring practices.) I confessed my fears to Deidre, who said wisely, “I guess that means you’ll finish it out with him.” (Yes, I did.)

Being the junior member of the cadre, I felt Pief should not have to ask me twice. I went to his office like a recalcitrant child in full contrition, and said I had done my better thinking and would like to throw my hat in the ring. Pief said, “Well, let me see your hat.” I gave him my resume which he studied very, very thoroughly. Then he looked at me with that smile again, and said, “It appears you don’t know how to take dictation. The bulk of my work will require that you take dictation. What do you propose to do?”

There I sat at the table that had suddenly turned, trying to justify my qualifications.