Report of 12 Aug 2012
Good morning!
Man, I love Western b'fast - sausage, eggs, fruit. Mmmm mmm. And now, there are options like granola and parfait and my original choices of chicken-fried steak and the like no longer sound attractive to me. We had an older waitress attend to us, and I love having older people help. This lady's sense of humor and rolling of eyes, etc., are routinely funny and, similar to last time, she gave me a hug when we left Cracker Barrel.
We are watching Spain and the U.S. play the gold medal game in basketball. The U.S. team looks like a bunch of stars put together, and I see little evidence of team cohesion ("Kobe does not pass," said Navin). I have enjoyed watching the varied sports and continue to put a pox on NBC for their choice of showing grand track and field events late at night, opting instead for the umpteenth women's beach volleyball match earlier in the telecast. Mexico's triumph over the juggernaut Brazil in men's soccer, the story of David Rudisha and his coach, and the classy Mr. Pistorius, were inspirational, and I long for the day when India will shine on the international stage. That will be a bit of a wait, because corruption, bureaucracy and nepotism live large on the Indian sports scene; as with a few other countries at these games, I am pretty sure our team had more officials than athletes (or a close ratio), wanting a "foreign trip" at government expense. We do have outstanding athletes: our tribal youngsters run in the hills and wield a bow and arrow as their birth duty; our fisher folks swim for a living; little public school children would do well in field hockey. However, all these folks are busy staying in school or earning a living, or trying to, and thoughts of training for and playing a sport are probably remote.
Work is grand. Going in exhausted due to staying up and watching the Olympics put a bit of a cramp in the work day; however, work continues to be lovely. Our young interpreter suggested a famiy meeting for the family of the patient who has come from overseas, as she noticed them pulling in different directions. So we sat these folks down and told them their responsibilities - especially finances - and ours. I think some folks from certain parts of the world are misadvised: "Oh, whine enough and the U.S. hospitals will find free care from somewhere." Sigh. A trace of dignity might be good, as my patient in Chennai had: she was somewhat poor and my friend D. Ramesh's practice examined her eyes for free. She tried to pay and the payment was politely refused. She told me to coax D to accept the money, and I said I was happy her eyes had been examined, that no flaws were found.
Scott continues to be a master resource in Olympics trivia. He also got some streaming on the Internet, and I got to watch some fabulous track and field events before I fell asleep. Navin and I peeled off yesterday and went to see "The Bourne Legacy," which was dreadful. However, it was a good "time-pass," as we say in India, and it was also grand to have 1-on-1 time with Navin, seeing his gentle, bright and funny side. We had clashed over his one-time plans to enlist, and I see now that he has thought some things over.
Naren is well and acting in a theater festival in Chennai. His job-hunt continues, and we have good, insightful, philosophical discussions on it and other topics. I talked to my Dad today, and it was a nice call, with chuckles and bonhomie across the oceans.
Unw -
R
Man, I love Western b'fast - sausage, eggs, fruit. Mmmm mmm. And now, there are options like granola and parfait and my original choices of chicken-fried steak and the like no longer sound attractive to me. We had an older waitress attend to us, and I love having older people help. This lady's sense of humor and rolling of eyes, etc., are routinely funny and, similar to last time, she gave me a hug when we left Cracker Barrel.
We are watching Spain and the U.S. play the gold medal game in basketball. The U.S. team looks like a bunch of stars put together, and I see little evidence of team cohesion ("Kobe does not pass," said Navin). I have enjoyed watching the varied sports and continue to put a pox on NBC for their choice of showing grand track and field events late at night, opting instead for the umpteenth women's beach volleyball match earlier in the telecast. Mexico's triumph over the juggernaut Brazil in men's soccer, the story of David Rudisha and his coach, and the classy Mr. Pistorius, were inspirational, and I long for the day when India will shine on the international stage. That will be a bit of a wait, because corruption, bureaucracy and nepotism live large on the Indian sports scene; as with a few other countries at these games, I am pretty sure our team had more officials than athletes (or a close ratio), wanting a "foreign trip" at government expense. We do have outstanding athletes: our tribal youngsters run in the hills and wield a bow and arrow as their birth duty; our fisher folks swim for a living; little public school children would do well in field hockey. However, all these folks are busy staying in school or earning a living, or trying to, and thoughts of training for and playing a sport are probably remote.
Work is grand. Going in exhausted due to staying up and watching the Olympics put a bit of a cramp in the work day; however, work continues to be lovely. Our young interpreter suggested a famiy meeting for the family of the patient who has come from overseas, as she noticed them pulling in different directions. So we sat these folks down and told them their responsibilities - especially finances - and ours. I think some folks from certain parts of the world are misadvised: "Oh, whine enough and the U.S. hospitals will find free care from somewhere." Sigh. A trace of dignity might be good, as my patient in Chennai had: she was somewhat poor and my friend D. Ramesh's practice examined her eyes for free. She tried to pay and the payment was politely refused. She told me to coax D to accept the money, and I said I was happy her eyes had been examined, that no flaws were found.
Scott continues to be a master resource in Olympics trivia. He also got some streaming on the Internet, and I got to watch some fabulous track and field events before I fell asleep. Navin and I peeled off yesterday and went to see "The Bourne Legacy," which was dreadful. However, it was a good "time-pass," as we say in India, and it was also grand to have 1-on-1 time with Navin, seeing his gentle, bright and funny side. We had clashed over his one-time plans to enlist, and I see now that he has thought some things over.
Naren is well and acting in a theater festival in Chennai. His job-hunt continues, and we have good, insightful, philosophical discussions on it and other topics. I talked to my Dad today, and it was a nice call, with chuckles and bonhomie across the oceans.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
8:26 AM
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