(From Peggy Noonan’s current column.) “The cortege was coming toward the

steps. We looked out the window: a perfect tableaux of ceremonial excellence

from every branch of the armed forces. Mrs. Thatcher watched. She turned and

said to me, ‘This is the thing, you see, you must stay militarily strong,

with an undeniable strength. The importance of this cannot be exaggerated.’

“To my son, whose 17th birthday was the next day, she said, ‘And what do you

study?’ He tells her he loves history and literature. ‘Mathematics,’ she

says. He nods, wondering, I think, if she had heard him correctly. She had.

She was giving him advice. ‘In the world of the future it will be

mathematics that we need–the hard, specific knowledge of mathematical

formulae, you see.’ My son nodded: ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Later I squeezed his arm.

’Take notes,” I said. This is history.’”

Perhaps I should send Lady Thatcher a copy of Prime Obsession …..