by Israel Kirzner
Warmest congratulations to Mario Rizzo on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Having been associated with Mario for close to a half-century (ever since, as he never forgets to remind me, I arrived late to deliver a talk which he had arranged) – I count myself as one of the many who have been uplifted and illuminated by Mario’s steel-trap mind, depths and subtlety of understanding, and unswerving intellectual integrity.
During the decades of our being colleagues at New York University, Mario and I often disagreed profoundly on central issues in Austrian Economics – but each of these disagreements only taught me to respect Mario, even more than previously, as the distinguished open-minded, scholar that he is – and hopefully will be, for many years to come.
Israel M Kirzner
ThinkMarkets 
Thanks so much, Israel. Your mentorship has meant a lot to me. Our economics discussions certainly helped my own thinking even when we disagreed. We weathered quite a few storms together. And survived! I hope to continue things at NYU for some more years. I am enjoying what I am doing.