introduction

it is time for me to set up. first, a little about me. i graduated an american medical school of which i am quite fond in 1977. appointments with me are increasingly hard to come by through no fault of my own, though after thirty years i am starting to wind down the patient care aspect and harvest the proceeds of varied experiences and a creative, irascible mind.

while i thought i might be an empty nester by now, such is not yet the case. my daughter starts medical school in the fall, my son just graduated and probably will spend the coming year seeking his highest level of amusement on the video screen. my guess is that he will turn toward medicine as well, maybe going into critical care where the physicians now watch the icu activities on television from a remote site.

this past august my wife and i celebrated our thirtieth anniversary, which counts far above any professional achievements that may have intruded along the way.

we live in a typical suburban tract house, all paid for except for another year or so on a home improvement loan to install paint-free siding, then followed by another similar loan of similar sum for a new roof. we are hopelessly thorough savers, which has worked well for us economically but also resulted in 2400 or so square feet of clutter. the organizing shows on tv wouldn't know where to begin.

this memorial day weekend i'm toying with the summer schedule of obligations: graduation, the rabbi's retirement reception, shavuot, a medical center outing that i'll probably skip, our friend's daughter's bat mitzvah that i won't be able to skip, jury service, a respite away for the glorious fourth, my wife's friend's daughter's wedding, and finally my friend's wedding which we'll tie into vacation. there are two weekends on call thrown in as well. could use some downtime.

rich the furrydoc