Long Report of 24 and 30 Apr '05
Hello from Indiana, where it is cold enough to wear a sweatshirt all the time (hooray!) -
I spent a grand evening w/ Tori in Houston, catching up on family affairs amid plenty of laughter. Her dinner was also sensational and it was lovely to see her family; we had babysat her son when he was around 1.5-2 years old, and it was hard to believe this handsome teenager drumming in the garage was the same young man. Her daughter gave up her room for me, which was most kind, I thought, and her husband spared some precious minutes for all of us to chat, which I appreciated. Tori's heart is extremely pure and gentle towards us.
Tori dropped me at the airport (no mean feat as it is pretty far away from her house) and I got to San Antonio. Linda Johnson (my former anat prof) picked me up and took me to her father's house. Max kindly took me to the home of our friends, the Freemans, to get the boys, who had flown in to SA earlier and by themselves (them unaccompanied minor tix are twice the adult fare, but worth it for us as the boys got to the destination safely), and we spent quite some time discussing the state of the union here and in India, amid plenty of guffaws. It was great. Linda and Dave Johnson took us to eat Tex-Mex food. In the midst of this merriment, one of our sons caused the guest loo to overflow - it had never happened before and I was quite stricken w/ guilt at my progeny causing this. The hosts graciously overlooked the incident.
The next day, I spoke at school, arranged by Linda, to several med students and faculty about the work here. It was good fun for me. I was privileged to have in the audience Dorothy and Vick Williams; Vick is an anatomy prof in SA and has done a fair amount of work in my sister's med school in Vellore, and Dorothy is one of the most genuine people I have met. She had some suggestions for me, and was good enough to drop the boys "home." The talk produced some interest in the med students towards doing a fourth year rotation here, and I welcomed it. The boys sat in on the talk and were spoiled by Isabel Rodriguez, who works at the Alumni Association there and appears to make it a calling to spoil us w/ candy and goodies. Through Dorothy, I got to meet Abraham Verghese, who is of Indian descent and works in the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics in SA, and who is also interested in sending med students to India.
The day of our departure from Linda Johnson's, the bannister broke as I was climbing the stairs. It seemed like we were destined to wreak havoc in that beautiful house, but Linda took it in stride. I caught up w/ several former profs, which was very therapeutic for me, and went to lunch w/ Greg Freeman, who is a cardiologist and a great friend. We ate Thai food, discussed my work and his, and walked back to school - Greg's car was w/ his son and he could not locate either. No matter, b'cos the walk was fun and we got to talk longer. That afternoon, Linda and Richard Luduena made time for me and gave me plenty of feedback on my talk, as well as sharing their sense of humor. Richard is probably the only biochem prof who can make the subject fascinating. That evening, Greg (having located car and son) took my sons and me to the next stop on our agenda and appeared to make that favor seem effortless to himself, which I greatly appreciated.
We had a great dinner w/ Aurora and Scott Freeman, our former neighbors in SA whose youngest daughter is the only girl my sons will tolerate and who treat my kids like their own. We spent the night w/ Dallas Connor, their friend who finished his peds residency the same time that I finished my medicine residency. The next day, I discovered to my horror that one of my sons melted a crayon in his pocket and the clothes dryer was coated w/ a fine patina of blue. Wonderful. The day was spent buying nail polish remover w/ acetone, then getting pure acetone and scrubbing the mess out of the dryer. Both boys have been docked $ from their U.S. spending money. We had lunch at a lovely little Mexican cafe well-known to Aurora and Scott, and all my attempts to pay for the meal were rejected by the owner, who had been cued by the Freemans. That night, all 3 of us had a great Italian dinner w/ the Luduenas who engaged our sons in conversation like adults and insisted on their calling the Luduenas by their first names. I noticed our sons sitting straighter and acting like young adults after this singular honor.
We had a spectacular b'fast w/ A and S Freeman on our last day there and don't really think we imagined San Antonio heaving a sigh of relief at our departure - post loo, bannister, dryer ... We were picked up in Indy by Victoria Walker, a quality resident at St. V and a good friend. (The pilot announced that the weather in Indy was 39 deg and I thought "Celsius?" No, it wasn't.) We got to the home of Brenda and Jim Hillman, who very kindly harbor and maintain my car for me, and they hastened out w/ sweatshirts (which all of us were grateful for); it is always a joy to see the Hillmans (Hillmen?). We headed on to the Tabers' and said hello, then went to the home of Cindy and Kurt Smith. Cindy had baked several dozen chocolate chip cookies for dessert, which the boys along w/ Christopher Taber, fairly inhaled. It was great to see the Smiths and their pretty little girls.
We were delighted to see Cindy Ching and her family over breakfast the next day, hosted by her for residents of our class. Kris Rea was there, too, and it was fun going over residency memories. Kris and Cindy, now parents, look very good, serene and happy, and it was a nice sight. We met little Ian, Cindy's son, for the first time and that was nice. We look forward to seeing Isabella, Kris's daughter. We went on to Cincinnati from there for a reunion of Scott's family and got very lost which po'd me; however, I must say the gas station attendants at the places we stopped were most helpful and kind, and let us use the phone for free. Kindness truly warms the heart and soul. We were also warmed by the hospitality shown by Scott's relatives, and the boisterous good time and great food. There was non-stop laughter and joking there, which I have always appreciated in my in-laws; there is no topic too sacred for them to poke fun at and that is as it should be.
We went on that evening to the farm owned by Scott's aunt and uncle, which is a stone's throw away from his Mom's. It was grand fun sitting and gabbing w/ the 3 relatives, all of whom have wonderful, understated senses of humor, often self-deprecating. It was a memorable evening, and I felt myself unwinding for the first time, after the San Antonio debacles caused by my sons, and the inadvertent tour of Cincinnati.
This past week, I have been privileged to round w/ Dr. Love, who was my advisor at St. V and is a brilliant clinician. It has been excellent refreshing my memory of inpatient medicine under his tutelage and I have seen some cool cases. Sometimes, what is cool for us (health care professionals) is not always cool for the patients. However, all patients have something to teach us. As does Dr. Love. It strikes me that, universally, patients are grateful for a kind word and the human touch, as well as being treated w/ respect regardless of socioeconomic status. The ladies that work w/ Jim Hillman, Ruth, Boni and Tami, have also ensured my welcome and that is "mighty kind" of them.
The boys are w/ their grandmother and aunt, and I am at the library today. The public library here is awesome, and I enjoy it immensely. Perhaps one day I will have a library in India - certainly there are public libs there, but far away and not as well-endowed as here. The library I start will probably be near the Hospice facility I will have, thus ensuring some human traffic to the area and the possibility of the lonely and dying having a visitor or 2. If you can dream it, you can do it.
This tome was a tad long and I apologize. It has been an eventful 2 weeks.
I feel very privileged to be here. Thank you all for the welcome, and for continuing to stay in touch.
I spent a grand evening w/ Tori in Houston, catching up on family affairs amid plenty of laughter. Her dinner was also sensational and it was lovely to see her family; we had babysat her son when he was around 1.5-2 years old, and it was hard to believe this handsome teenager drumming in the garage was the same young man. Her daughter gave up her room for me, which was most kind, I thought, and her husband spared some precious minutes for all of us to chat, which I appreciated. Tori's heart is extremely pure and gentle towards us.
Tori dropped me at the airport (no mean feat as it is pretty far away from her house) and I got to San Antonio. Linda Johnson (my former anat prof) picked me up and took me to her father's house. Max kindly took me to the home of our friends, the Freemans, to get the boys, who had flown in to SA earlier and by themselves (them unaccompanied minor tix are twice the adult fare, but worth it for us as the boys got to the destination safely), and we spent quite some time discussing the state of the union here and in India, amid plenty of guffaws. It was great. Linda and Dave Johnson took us to eat Tex-Mex food. In the midst of this merriment, one of our sons caused the guest loo to overflow - it had never happened before and I was quite stricken w/ guilt at my progeny causing this. The hosts graciously overlooked the incident.
The next day, I spoke at school, arranged by Linda, to several med students and faculty about the work here. It was good fun for me. I was privileged to have in the audience Dorothy and Vick Williams; Vick is an anatomy prof in SA and has done a fair amount of work in my sister's med school in Vellore, and Dorothy is one of the most genuine people I have met. She had some suggestions for me, and was good enough to drop the boys "home." The talk produced some interest in the med students towards doing a fourth year rotation here, and I welcomed it. The boys sat in on the talk and were spoiled by Isabel Rodriguez, who works at the Alumni Association there and appears to make it a calling to spoil us w/ candy and goodies. Through Dorothy, I got to meet Abraham Verghese, who is of Indian descent and works in the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics in SA, and who is also interested in sending med students to India.
The day of our departure from Linda Johnson's, the bannister broke as I was climbing the stairs. It seemed like we were destined to wreak havoc in that beautiful house, but Linda took it in stride. I caught up w/ several former profs, which was very therapeutic for me, and went to lunch w/ Greg Freeman, who is a cardiologist and a great friend. We ate Thai food, discussed my work and his, and walked back to school - Greg's car was w/ his son and he could not locate either. No matter, b'cos the walk was fun and we got to talk longer. That afternoon, Linda and Richard Luduena made time for me and gave me plenty of feedback on my talk, as well as sharing their sense of humor. Richard is probably the only biochem prof who can make the subject fascinating. That evening, Greg (having located car and son) took my sons and me to the next stop on our agenda and appeared to make that favor seem effortless to himself, which I greatly appreciated.
We had a great dinner w/ Aurora and Scott Freeman, our former neighbors in SA whose youngest daughter is the only girl my sons will tolerate and who treat my kids like their own. We spent the night w/ Dallas Connor, their friend who finished his peds residency the same time that I finished my medicine residency. The next day, I discovered to my horror that one of my sons melted a crayon in his pocket and the clothes dryer was coated w/ a fine patina of blue. Wonderful. The day was spent buying nail polish remover w/ acetone, then getting pure acetone and scrubbing the mess out of the dryer. Both boys have been docked $ from their U.S. spending money. We had lunch at a lovely little Mexican cafe well-known to Aurora and Scott, and all my attempts to pay for the meal were rejected by the owner, who had been cued by the Freemans. That night, all 3 of us had a great Italian dinner w/ the Luduenas who engaged our sons in conversation like adults and insisted on their calling the Luduenas by their first names. I noticed our sons sitting straighter and acting like young adults after this singular honor.
We had a spectacular b'fast w/ A and S Freeman on our last day there and don't really think we imagined San Antonio heaving a sigh of relief at our departure - post loo, bannister, dryer ... We were picked up in Indy by Victoria Walker, a quality resident at St. V and a good friend. (The pilot announced that the weather in Indy was 39 deg and I thought "Celsius?" No, it wasn't.) We got to the home of Brenda and Jim Hillman, who very kindly harbor and maintain my car for me, and they hastened out w/ sweatshirts (which all of us were grateful for); it is always a joy to see the Hillmans (Hillmen?). We headed on to the Tabers' and said hello, then went to the home of Cindy and Kurt Smith. Cindy had baked several dozen chocolate chip cookies for dessert, which the boys along w/ Christopher Taber, fairly inhaled. It was great to see the Smiths and their pretty little girls.
We were delighted to see Cindy Ching and her family over breakfast the next day, hosted by her for residents of our class. Kris Rea was there, too, and it was fun going over residency memories. Kris and Cindy, now parents, look very good, serene and happy, and it was a nice sight. We met little Ian, Cindy's son, for the first time and that was nice. We look forward to seeing Isabella, Kris's daughter. We went on to Cincinnati from there for a reunion of Scott's family and got very lost which po'd me; however, I must say the gas station attendants at the places we stopped were most helpful and kind, and let us use the phone for free. Kindness truly warms the heart and soul. We were also warmed by the hospitality shown by Scott's relatives, and the boisterous good time and great food. There was non-stop laughter and joking there, which I have always appreciated in my in-laws; there is no topic too sacred for them to poke fun at and that is as it should be.
We went on that evening to the farm owned by Scott's aunt and uncle, which is a stone's throw away from his Mom's. It was grand fun sitting and gabbing w/ the 3 relatives, all of whom have wonderful, understated senses of humor, often self-deprecating. It was a memorable evening, and I felt myself unwinding for the first time, after the San Antonio debacles caused by my sons, and the inadvertent tour of Cincinnati.
This past week, I have been privileged to round w/ Dr. Love, who was my advisor at St. V and is a brilliant clinician. It has been excellent refreshing my memory of inpatient medicine under his tutelage and I have seen some cool cases. Sometimes, what is cool for us (health care professionals) is not always cool for the patients. However, all patients have something to teach us. As does Dr. Love. It strikes me that, universally, patients are grateful for a kind word and the human touch, as well as being treated w/ respect regardless of socioeconomic status. The ladies that work w/ Jim Hillman, Ruth, Boni and Tami, have also ensured my welcome and that is "mighty kind" of them.
The boys are w/ their grandmother and aunt, and I am at the library today. The public library here is awesome, and I enjoy it immensely. Perhaps one day I will have a library in India - certainly there are public libs there, but far away and not as well-endowed as here. The library I start will probably be near the Hospice facility I will have, thus ensuring some human traffic to the area and the possibility of the lonely and dying having a visitor or 2. If you can dream it, you can do it.
This tome was a tad long and I apologize. It has been an eventful 2 weeks.
I feel very privileged to be here. Thank you all for the welcome, and for continuing to stay in touch.
posted by Renu Weiss at
10:25 PM
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