There are two Kellys, Leroy Kelly and Paul Kelly, each of whom has graced the American field of mathematics and, in particular, the area of geometry. Naturally, as geometers, I had corresponded with each Kelly for a number of years, but for a long time had not had the pleasure of meeting either one of them. The story of how I finally met these two mathematicians is interesting.

One summer in the l960s I was teaching at the University of Maine in a National Science Foundation Summer Institute for Teachers of Mathematics. Driving home from class one day, as I came to my house in nearby Stillwater, I noticed a car parked in front of the house, with a man sitting in it. I drove up my driveway to the big barn in the rear, the lower floor of which served as my garage. Glancing in the car's rear-view mirror I saw the man of the parked car get out of his car and start walking up the driveway. So, after I parked my car, I proceeded down the driveway toward the advancing man. As we drew near he extended a hand, which I grasped, and he said, “I'm Kelly.” “Ah,” I replied, “the great geometer.” “Oh, no,” he said, “I'm not Paul Kelly, I'm Leroy Kelly.” We went up into the top of my barn where I had a large study room that housed my mathematics library.