It was good fortune to be a child during the Depression years and a youth during the war years.

My parents regarded school teachers as higher beings, as did many immigrants.

A parent being called to the school because their child had misbehaved was as serious as a parent being called to the police station because their child had robbed a bank.

I was also interested in chemistry, but my parents were not willing to buy me a chemistry set.

Experimental science is a craft and an art, and part of the art is knowing when to end a fruitless experiment. There is a danger of becoming obsessed with a fruitless experiment even if it goes nowhere.

My parents were determined to move into the middle class.

Going to school and working for good marks, indeed working for very good marks, was a serious business.