A dramatic reading of the periodic table of the elements

Steve Martin has a rather good autobiographical piece in the New Yorker this week (not available online). A paragraph I especially liked (we're in the late 60s; Mitzi is Steve's girlfriend and Dalton Trumbo's daughter):

My first glimpse of Dalton Trumbo revealed an engrossed intellect--not finessing his latest screenplay but sorting the seeds and stems from a brick of pot. "Pop smokes marijuana," Mitzi explained, "with the wishful thought of cutting down on his drinking." Sometimes, from their balcony, I would see Trumbo walking laps around the perimeter of the pool. He held a small counter in one hand and clicked it every time he passed the diving board. These health walks were compromised by the cigarette he constantly held in his other hand.