Dare To Be 100: Lunch With Margaret

Interviewing is really tiring, so it was at the conclusion of a long day of these sessions when Margaret came in as my last interview. Having spent six months in Nairobi in 1980 studying with Richard Leakey with an amateur anthropology background I had recognized the ring in Margaret’s voice. I blurted out “You’re from Nairobi.” “Yes, I have just gotten off the plane from East Africa”. I sat bold upright. Margaret is tiny, maybe 90 pounds, is black as coal, with piercing eyes, and a surreal regal presence. She possesses a dignity that would make Socrates proud. Somehow she, an orphan, had found her way from the back alleys of Nairobi to Palo Alto. I was overcome by her presence and the power of the encounter that I was witnessing. After our 15 minute interview I’m sure that I rated her with the highest number that I possibly could. Obviously other interviewers shared my enthusiasm because she was admitted as a freshman candidate to the medical school. I was thrilled.