time and energy stripping off the old paint and filling in the holes with putty. Likewise, before laying down expensive Carrara marble, I would first have to do the backbreaking work of ripping up the torn and stained carpets and removing the moldy pads and rusty tack boards. Neither the stripping nor the ripping makes for glamorous work, but the work must be done if the house is to reach its pinnacle of beauty. With the skill of a master painter and the precision of a master stonemason, Plato built