An unintentional poke solidified my long-standing admiration of my uncle Ralph into a profound connection. Asking him the same question, “how did you do this work?” had over the years led to many divertive but insightful and educational conversations with my uncle. During these eleven years, he occasionally told me, “You learn to not talk.” These conversations, general surgeon to pioneering open heart surgeon, whetted my desire to know more and ask him my question again.  That day in the fall of 2006, my uncle Ralph was irritated by my attempt to nominate him for an…