My memories of Dr Plott

from Daniel E. Huston
a former student

(from an e-mail sent to Wallace Gray)

I knew Dr Plott as a small boy. My father was an undergraduate philosophy major at Marshall University & he introduced me to Dr Plott for the first time when I was only six or seven years old. We visited him one evening at his "Mole Hole" in the Old Main at MU. I'll never forget that visit. He made a gift to me of my first small package of incense, some small self-burning cylinders wrapped in amber cellophane. I seem to remember that he had there that night a small pocket-sized edition of the Bhagavad Gita (bilingual in English & Sanskrit, perhaps?). Whenever reading the Gita or listening to music from Philip Glass' opera Satyagraha, I am reminded of that very first time encountering Vedic literature.

Years later when as an undergraduate sociology & mathematics major at Marshall, I would sometimes visit him in his new office at Harris Hall. (But his residence still maintained the familiar atmosphere of the "Mole Hole.") He could often be found attending recitals, concerts & chamber music festivals in the Music Dept at Marshall. One night we talked during the intermission between wonderful performances of string quartets of Dvorak & Debussy. This was somehow one of the happiest moments that I remember him having. He so loved good music.

Had I been a philosophy major, I would undoubtedly have been attracted to his Global History of Philosophy project. But I had considered majoring in International Affairs & Dr Plott encouraged me to persist in that direction instead, although I at length became interested in mathematics. Dr Plott helped encourage my own interest in interdisciplinary thinking as well as a global focus which has remained with me to this day.

Dr Plott also could transcend his eccentricities & be very practical. One day while shopping for Mom I encountered him in a local supermarket. He shared a very tasty recipe for stewed fish that made it possible for Mom to continue consuming this almost daily requirement of her weight-loss diet. She had eaten about all the flavorless broiled fish she could tolerate! Afterwards, she would always remark whenever she was cooking "Dr Plott's fish," which became one of her favorites.

What I remember most from college about Dr Plott, though, was his constant presence in the local Peace Community. He was always present at events like the Model UN Club's annual high school competition & symposia sponsored by various campus pacifist & world affairs organizations. He would always leave a stack of brochures for the Planetary Passport at Model UN Club events. He didn't talk about it that much, but somehow we knew that it really meant a great deal to him. He was probably the closest person to a global patriot that I'll ever know.

Daniel E Huston
musicdreamer@geocities.com
Recent Adjunct Prof of Mathematics
Hamline University and also of
Computer & Information Sciences
Metropolitan State University
St Paul, Minnesota

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