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The first time I ever saw Paul was in my College Seminar class with Anne Dalke. He was a visitor and what I mostly remember is him leading a discussion on reality and what is real. The question was whether the table in the center of the classroom was real. I hated it and became frustrated, but I did find him interesting. 

Then, preregistration time was coming up and I noticed Paul was teaching a class called Neurobiology and Behavior. It sounded interesting, but it had a prerequisite that I had not completed. So...I e-mailed him and asked him if he'd let me take the class anyways. He responded that we should meet so we set up a time. I went into see him and after basic introductions his first question for me was that darned is the table real question. I finally snapped and said 'who cares! as long as I can use it why does it matter?!' As soon as I said it I regretted my small outburst and feared that he would not let me take his class. After a few short moments that seemed so long to me Paul merely looked straight at me and said "You have an interesting mind". That was it and then he moved on. 

I ended up taking 2 classes with Paul and feel very fortunate that I got to know him before he passed. He truly was an amazing man.