Sharing a planet and an epoch

It was a chance meeting. I ran into him more than a year after we met last. But that short meeting brought back fond memories.

Save for my parents few people have done as much for me as he has. And knowing his boundless benevolence I am sure I am not the only recipient of his kindness.

“In the vastness of space” wrote Carl Sagan, “and the immensity of time it is my joy to share a planet and an epoch with Annie.” The reference was to his wife Ann Druyan. How true! Look at the history and the millennia to come and then look at the countless stars and imagine their planetary systems and lives that might be. How easy it is to miss a kind person by a few hundred years, by a few solar systems!

It indeed is my joy to share a planet and an epoch with Safwan Shah.