Report of 19 July '09

Hello from the libraire -

Nice place, this.

The week has been okay. I got to see a patient with diabetes, whom I'd sent to several specialists because of the multitude of things wrong with him. In my exam room, he'd said he could not take orders from a woman; I had laughed out loud and told him that was just too bad because the nurses, receptionist and I were all female, and inclined to tell him what to do. So he took himself off and saw all the specialists. He and his wife are headed to Montana for a few months, and he has had his tune-up, and I have cleared him to go.

I have moved from Carolyn's place to the home of Kris Rea and Gabe Soukup. It is as warm and lovely as my previous residence. Kris and Gabe are very beloved people, having overcome a lot in their personal lives and still smiling, cheery and hospitable, and I am loving my time with them and their daughters.

I finished re-reading "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," and saw the movie yesterday. It was excellent; I enjoy the camaraderie among the protagonists and the wonderful role their teachers play. After the movie, I wandered into an Afghan restaurant nearby and ordered kebabs; the owner and I started talking and it was fabulous. He told me of issues in Afghanistan I did not know - "Karzai is good for his brothers and his friends. Everyone has an agenda when they get a job. Karzai's is to make his family and friends wealthy. Just like Bush." I like talking to people from other countries; even if they do not know my political leanings (I have few, coming from a country of mind-numbingly corrupt politicians), they express opinions freely. I will go into this restaurant again. I told this man of having met Miss Afghanistan - USA at the Banyan; she was *gorgeous* and spoke to me warmly, as though she had known me for a good 10 years.

The Weiss men are fine and dealing with issues in my absence. Some have spilled over into an argument with me, which the boys attempted to smoothe over; while I am tempted to say "Poor things," Scott's aunt tells me the boys are now old enough to get into the nitty-gritty of relationships.

Unw -

R