Report of 14 May '07
Hello from very warm Chennai -
There are 3 young men watching "X-Men 3" right in front of me, and they are a treat to observe.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you! I had a splendid day, w/ homemade cards from the boys - the best kind. Naren wrote down the various forms of "Mom" - Amma, Madre, Mum, etc. - and had adjectives against each letter. Against "r," he had "Repeatedly bites" and it was hilarious! (I sometimes pick up an arm, any arm, when watching movies or travelling and pretend to gnaw on it.) Navin had a quick msg on his card, he's more the hugging kind than the writing kind. His voice has started to crack and is novel; Naren's went straight to deep.
We were out of Chennai for a week: spent a few days in Bangalore w/ Scott, went to Coorg to see my late Uncle Thammappa's family and other cousins, to Mysore to see my aunt Kamala, spent the day w/ my sister-in-law, Susan, in Bangalore and then left for Chennai. It is wonderful that these interactions recharge us to such an extent. I was especially delighted to get together w/ Susan and see that she is well and happy; she's a good sort. We have brought my nephew, Sudhir, w/ us from B'lore and he is good company. We stopped for the night in Vellore en route home and that was great fun - my sister, Anu, and her family live there, and there was much eating, good-natured teasing, and lots of laughing. Anu and I couldn't stop talking, and it was oh-so therapeutic. I took clothes for Anu and Susan, and they loved 'em. Anu has 2 sons, Aditya and Vikram, and all the boys romped together in wild testosterone abandon. Susan and Sudhir have not got along of late, and I am hoping that all this unbridled affection will give Sudhir a bit of a bank balance of it, as well as give Susan a break.
I returned to find the veg market anxious for my return. The tomato lady wept as soon as she saw me, and hastened home to bring her husband, who has been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). I looked at the x-ray outside the veg market; I am not an expert in x-rays at all, but the TB was evident even to me. I reassured the couple that this was not a fatal illness, told them about the treatment, advised them on nutrition; the lady said no one had explained it to them, and thus the tremendous fear. I held her hand and tried to assuage all her fears. A 200-buck visit was dispensed for free, but there were riches beyond compare: reassurance of a poor patient, enlightening them about an illness (an educated patient is our best resource), removing a wife's fear, showing my son that poor ("outcaste") patients can also be treated w/ dignity, respect and a shared sense of humor.
The issue w/ money is an odd one. In my 3-year quest for funding, as soon as someone says No to me, I hit the road. I am not adept at selling myself, and in fact, have been lambasted before for whining about this issue in my blog. But 'tis my blog, the lack of money is mildly concerning off and on, and "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to." The patients are going to be seen, regardless, and it is this complacency that exists w/ many funders (and with me :) ). So be it. I am returning to the U.S. in June to work for 2 months in an Indianapolis clinic, had been promised airfare and a rental car last year, the person promising it has left, and the present admin states they cannot honor the commitment. So I said Ok, and am heading there anyway, as I enjoy working in the U.S. and must make some $ to pay off them almighty student loans. Maybe I'll write for a fee someday, maybe I'll continue to speak, which I greatly enjoy.
Our maid's son has flunked his entrance exam into 6th grade, and Naren, Navin and Sudhir will tutor him today and tomorrow for a re-examination. The child must pass this exam and I am grateful for the help. My sons are, all said and done, fairly remarkable sorts - left the affluent land of their birth to live here and work w/ me; treat all people the same (their cousin Sudhir, the maid's son); are very careful how much they whine about India and the U.S.; have robust senses of humor that make me laugh out loud on Mother's Day and every day. There is our legacy.
"There may be some doubt as to who are the best people to have charge of children, but there can be no doubt that parents are the worst." - George Bernard Shaw
Unw -
R
There are 3 young men watching "X-Men 3" right in front of me, and they are a treat to observe.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you! I had a splendid day, w/ homemade cards from the boys - the best kind. Naren wrote down the various forms of "Mom" - Amma, Madre, Mum, etc. - and had adjectives against each letter. Against "r," he had "Repeatedly bites" and it was hilarious! (I sometimes pick up an arm, any arm, when watching movies or travelling and pretend to gnaw on it.) Navin had a quick msg on his card, he's more the hugging kind than the writing kind. His voice has started to crack and is novel; Naren's went straight to deep.
We were out of Chennai for a week: spent a few days in Bangalore w/ Scott, went to Coorg to see my late Uncle Thammappa's family and other cousins, to Mysore to see my aunt Kamala, spent the day w/ my sister-in-law, Susan, in Bangalore and then left for Chennai. It is wonderful that these interactions recharge us to such an extent. I was especially delighted to get together w/ Susan and see that she is well and happy; she's a good sort. We have brought my nephew, Sudhir, w/ us from B'lore and he is good company. We stopped for the night in Vellore en route home and that was great fun - my sister, Anu, and her family live there, and there was much eating, good-natured teasing, and lots of laughing. Anu and I couldn't stop talking, and it was oh-so therapeutic. I took clothes for Anu and Susan, and they loved 'em. Anu has 2 sons, Aditya and Vikram, and all the boys romped together in wild testosterone abandon. Susan and Sudhir have not got along of late, and I am hoping that all this unbridled affection will give Sudhir a bit of a bank balance of it, as well as give Susan a break.
I returned to find the veg market anxious for my return. The tomato lady wept as soon as she saw me, and hastened home to bring her husband, who has been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). I looked at the x-ray outside the veg market; I am not an expert in x-rays at all, but the TB was evident even to me. I reassured the couple that this was not a fatal illness, told them about the treatment, advised them on nutrition; the lady said no one had explained it to them, and thus the tremendous fear. I held her hand and tried to assuage all her fears. A 200-buck visit was dispensed for free, but there were riches beyond compare: reassurance of a poor patient, enlightening them about an illness (an educated patient is our best resource), removing a wife's fear, showing my son that poor ("outcaste") patients can also be treated w/ dignity, respect and a shared sense of humor.
The issue w/ money is an odd one. In my 3-year quest for funding, as soon as someone says No to me, I hit the road. I am not adept at selling myself, and in fact, have been lambasted before for whining about this issue in my blog. But 'tis my blog, the lack of money is mildly concerning off and on, and "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to." The patients are going to be seen, regardless, and it is this complacency that exists w/ many funders (and with me :) ). So be it. I am returning to the U.S. in June to work for 2 months in an Indianapolis clinic, had been promised airfare and a rental car last year, the person promising it has left, and the present admin states they cannot honor the commitment. So I said Ok, and am heading there anyway, as I enjoy working in the U.S. and must make some $ to pay off them almighty student loans. Maybe I'll write for a fee someday, maybe I'll continue to speak, which I greatly enjoy.
Our maid's son has flunked his entrance exam into 6th grade, and Naren, Navin and Sudhir will tutor him today and tomorrow for a re-examination. The child must pass this exam and I am grateful for the help. My sons are, all said and done, fairly remarkable sorts - left the affluent land of their birth to live here and work w/ me; treat all people the same (their cousin Sudhir, the maid's son); are very careful how much they whine about India and the U.S.; have robust senses of humor that make me laugh out loud on Mother's Day and every day. There is our legacy.
"There may be some doubt as to who are the best people to have charge of children, but there can be no doubt that parents are the worst." - George Bernard Shaw
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
2:35 AM
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