las lomitas elementary school

11.22.09

My Mother, the Scientist

What's it like to grow up with a mother who is a distinguished physicist and the sister of one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century? In the month of Mother's Day, Popular Science News Editor Charles Hirshberg remembers

By Charles Hirshberg Posted 04.18.2002 at 1:00 am 1 Comment

In 1966, Mrs. Weddle's first grade class at Las Lomitas Elementary School got its first homework assignment: We were to find out what our fathers did for a living, then come back and tell the class. The next day, as my well-scrubbed classmates boasted about their fathers, I was nervous. For one thing, I was afraid of Mrs. Weddle: I realize now that she was probably harmless, but to a shy, elf-size, nervous little guy she looked like a monstrous, talking baked potato. On top of that, I had a surprise in store, and I wasn't sure how it would be received.

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