The first night that we arrived in Ann Arbor, Harry told us some stories about his childhood, growing up in 1930s NYC. By way of introduction, he told us that he grew up in the poorest neighborhood of the poorest brough, the Bronx. This might be hyperbole or not. He has always said that it was cheaper to move than to pay rent. Anyway, his first job was that of Sabbath Goy. He would perform tasks for the Orthodox Jews who were honoring their sabbath, like turning on lights or them. For this he was paid a few cents, sometimes a nickel.

Another of his stories involved a neighbor named Al (not Albert) Einstein. Al was a pants presser by trade. He was very good at it too. He was so good at it that he was never out of work during the depression. He was so good that it was said that you could cut yourself on his pants crease. After a while, Al had a nephew named Myron. Myron was a bright kid and was said to be a real egghead. One day he graduated from Columbia with a PhD. in particle physics. On that day Al asked Myron if he could explain that theory of relatives that that other Einstein had made famous. Myron sat Al down and using terms that he could understand explained it to him. Al’s response was, “and you can make a living doing this?”