We were sitting at the edge of the restaurant patio, enjoying a sliver of sun on a blustery day as we ate out salads and soup and sandwiches. A couple with two dogs sat down at a table nearby.<\/p>\n
Trudy and the woman made eye contact and realized that they knew each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Pretty dog,” Trudy said, looking at the woman’s Siberian Husky.<\/p>\n
“Thanks,” she said, “he’s Landau.”<\/p>\n
Bang!<\/em> goes my head: Landau and Lifshitz<\/em>. But I kept the thought to myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n Later I mentioned it to Trudy.\u00a0I whispered that I wanted to ask if their other dog was Lifshitz, and I told Trudy about the series of physics textbooks,\u00a0Course of Theoretical Physics<\/a>\u00a0by L.D.\u00a0Landau and E.M.\u00a0Lifshitz.<\/p>\n “You’re hopeless,” she chuckled, as we got up to take our empty plates back into the restaurant.<\/p>\n On the way to the car, we stopped by the table again to chat with the couple and admire the dogs.<\/p>\n “What’s your other dog’s name?” Trudy asked.<\/p>\n “Curie,” the woman said.<\/p>\n Bang!<\/em> goes my head. I don’t need to tell you what I was thinking<\/a>. Now, I couldn’t keep it to myself.<\/p>\n