“I sort of remember everybody as kind of lounging around, sitting back in their chairs and talking and usually listening to Bob. I don’t know how soon I realized what a kind, thoughtful, stern man he was. I don’t know what I felt at first. I was kind of hostess to everybody with food and things. He would not let you get away with saying something that he considered false or maybe even wrong. Maybe that’s the same word. He pushed you and he pushed indirectly by asking questions. He did this with me, too. Questions that you couldn’t even imagine where they were going and it finally got you around to seeing his point. I’m sure that I felt, “Oh, dear, I’m not really thinking the way he hopes I’ll think or something.”
I certainly loved to have him come, though I felt that I had to put a little more effort into my thoughts when he was there. I mean, he didn’t just talk about rain or something. You needed to be on your toes and I kind of liked that. I think I always felt comfortable with him except that very first meeting, when I wasn’t so sure if I could measure up. When he keeps asking questions in such a way that you think, “Oh, I don’t know.”
–
