An unexpected email arrived in my inbox. “I would like you to perform at Oxford Storytelling Festival…” Wow! How did they find out about me? I’m a famous storyteller. I’ve been doing this for a while. Working hard on stories. This is so cool! Maybe they saw me perform at one of the festival new …Read More
Category: Journal
Permission to Leave
“Doc, he’s gone.” Working as a hospitalist, I had a list of patients to see for the week. This was my first day back at the hospital, and so all the patients were new. Joe was on hospice care. The hospice facility was full. From the medical record, I could see that he was comatose. …Read More
“The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? —Mary Oliver, excerpt from poem “The Summer Day” June 21, 2018, is the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere. For us, it is the longest day of the year and the official start of summer. From today onward, the …Read More
Native American Wisdom: “Nature is my teacher.”
“Nature is my teacher.” The Native American teachings rely on observation of Nature—listening to the stories whispered by of the natural world. The outer world reflects our inner world. When I have been in intense times of emotional and spiritual discomfort (depressed, burned out), I look to change everything around me. Start exercising. Change jobs. …Read More
Inoculative Expressions – watch my interview
Larnell Cross interviews slices of life in the art world outside the mainstream in his home town of Miami, Florida. His online talk show highlights diverse music, poetry, storytelling, dance and art. I met him in South Miami when I was performing my 90-minute storytelling show, “Legacy of Love,” at Tea & Poets. We sat …Read More
Munchausen Syndrome
The saddest diseases that I have encountered in my medical career are those of the mind. Lori (not her real name) came into the hospital with persistent fevers. She had multiple admissions. Blood cultures were positive for multiple types of bacteria. Where was this infection coming from? She improved on broad spectrum antibiotics that covered …Read More
The Most Dangerous Animal in Yosemite
Yosemite National Park in California is a spectacular valley of natural wonder and wildlife. First protected in 1864, the nearly 1,200 square miles are covered with waterfalls, deep valleys, ancient sequoias, and vast wilderness. With black bears, coyotes, bobcats, and big horn sheep, the park is full of wildlife. However, according to a ranger when …Read More
Organ Donor, Organ Harvest
In medical school, I had the opportunity to observe a “Harvest.” I had observed many surgical operations, but never this procedure. The young man had been in a motorcycle accident, and the tests showed that he was brain-dead. He was an organ donor, his family consented, and now an organ harvest was scheduled. I walked …Read More
David Steindl-Rast: Anatomy of Gratitude
“Gratitude … secures the kind of joy that us human beings look for. I always say joy is the happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens. And, usually, we have the idea, well, when something nice happens, then I’m happy, and when something bad happens, of course I’m unhappy. Well, you can be unhappy, and …Read More
Speaking in Praise – the Song of a Friend
“A friend is someone who knows your song, and sings it back to you when you forget.” ~ adapted from an anonymous quote My friend, R. Sunde, is an inspiring role model that I met at Toastmasters, the organization I joined nearly a decade ago to improve my public speaking skills. Sunde is full of …Read More