  This article is not a proof of the Poincar\'{e} conjecture but a discussion
of the proof, its context, and some of the people who played a prominent role.
It is a personal, anecdotal account. There may be omission or transpositions as
these recollections are 40 years old and not supported by contemporaneous
notes, but memories feel surprisingly fresh. I have not looked up old papers to
check details of statements; this article is merely a download from my current
mental state.
