two conversations on wearing a faded einstein t-shirt

saturday night. in a beer bar on bleeker street -
- did you celebrate 3/14?
- 3/14?
- you know, 3.14, pi day? aren't you a mathematician?
- no.
- well, i am.

a while later -
- einstein was also born on 3/14.
- no he wasn't. he was born on feb 24th.
- march 14th.
- feb 24th.
- wanna bet?
- sure, i'll buy you a drink if i'm wrong. now find someone with a blackberry.

the blackberry was never found. the mathematician left. and after a while, so did i.
while walking along washington square south, i was stopped -
- hey man, is that einstein on your t-shirt?
- yes.
- tell me, then. wasn't he an expert on love?
- no.
he turned around to his friends, who'd stopped to listen, and said, see? i told you.
the friend came up to me and asked -
- what did einstein know about love?
- shit.

the answer seemed to make them happy. they laughed as they walked away, telling me to have a great night.

But i was wrong both times. einstein was born on 3/14, but i had been convinced otherwise many years ago by Mr. James, who claims/claimed to share a birthday with him. and it was wrong to say that he didn't know about love. he knew about love, as a human being among and a human being like other human beings, but it could also be argued that the sort of physics he did would be impossible for a deep love for the beauty of the world, the underlying harmony of things which made him believe in Spinoza's God. but also, in his politics, a deep and abiding love for humanity.

so einstein knew his stuff. wish it would rub off from the t-shirt.