Chris Pleim taught the first dharma class I ever took, at the Boston Dharmadhatu in 1978 or 1979. I remember sitting in the class, with a bunch of other college students from around Boston, and probably a mix of other people, all of whom seemed to be new to the dharma scene. We watched the minutes go by as we waited for Chris to show up for the 7 pm class. 7:10, 7:15, 7:20, 7:25 – a few people got up and left. Around that time Chris came in. He sat in the teacher’s chair (we were on gomdens and zafus) and he didn’t say anything at first. He just sat there. A few minutes went by. He continued to sit there, expressionless. I still remember the way his arm was draped over the armrest of his chair, the way the Vidyadhara’s arm would rest. People in the class had been annoyed about Chris being late and now started to become uncomfortable. A few more got up and walked out. After what seemed like an eternity (who knows how long it actually was) Chris started to teach. But I thought the class was good. Relatively few people showed up the next week, but I did, and have been hooked ever since. Whether or not that was an appropriate way to start a class, it certainly was courageous, fearless. I didn’t know Chris well, but well enough to know he was fearless. And usually fun. I moved away from Boston for a long time, but lived the area again in the ~1997 – 2020 timeframe. I did have the pleasure of having Chris tune my piano in ~2011. Also, he had an on-again / off-again jazz band and he reconstituted the band to play at my wedding in 2012. I would almost always have some laughs when I saw Chris. It’s sad to see him go.