What qualities in a person do you hold highest? For a long time I’ve said integrity because of its connection with honesty and soundness of character. And I know my least favorite quality is arrogance.
A close friend of mine passed on last month and in remembering all of his qualities, a generosity of spirit immediately came to mind. Someone with a seemingly, limitless capacity for knowledge, born out of genuine and playful curiosity. And he -- I’ll refer to him by his initials, DR -- was an unexpected friend.
We met when I began my librarianship at Fermilab. I had no real background in science, unless you count “library science,” but physics had always fascinated me. DR was a physicist who played a key role in developing the lab’s computer systems.
With him I was charged with automating the library. It was a pretty intense work relationship in which I learned the meaning of true collaboration. Our different backgrounds and approaches clashed almost as much as they enriched our efforts. But there was no arrogance, and eventually our approaches would sync. It didn’t feel like compromise, more like synergy and DR led the way.
He was one of those rare individuals whose integrity and exuberance for life itself ignited the minds and hearts of those lucky enough to have known him.
I’m Paula Garrett and that’s my perspective on my friend and mentor, DR.
