The Cure for Women, by Reeder This is a rich biography/history book that takes place in the last Gilded Age, mostly occurring after our Civil War. The main character is Mary Putnam Jacobi who is worthy of great admiration — detailed below. Two anecdotes flowed from the book and caught my attention. The first was, “The Philadelphia Jeering Incident.” This was one of many events chronicled and points to the trials women seeking a medical education faced. In 1869, a group of

The book The Cure For Women and the featured Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi stimulated the following recollections and thoughts: My experience traveling to the third world on “medical missions” taught me some lessons related to expectations as well as real-life experience. I had a similar insight following three months in the confined quarters of a ship while serving as physician on the Semester at Sea program; those clients, young American “adults,”unlike those in the third world, w

Unusual things: Jeff Ankiney gave me the complete set of the “Master and Commander” series by O’Brian when I retired eight years ago. I finished volume 24 this Spring. Thank you Jeff. This series takes you to another time and place, is good for the vocabulary, and has lots of medical points. I attended and provided first aid at “The Canoe Journey” this August—when Native American tribes travel by canoe (and honestly, by freeway also) from Alaska to Puget Sound for a jambore

How I look How I feel No pressure! Bless your little heart! I agree! Some of us do that so much better than others.

I learned through my work at Public Health that there were organizations that had members visiting inmates at the regional ICE detention center in Tacoma, Washington. This intrigued me for a number of reasons: I speak Spanish and a number of the visitors did not. I have a temperamental interest, at the root of my medical identity of wanting to provide solace and advice to people who are in a bad way. I read news with scary and at times outrageous reports of how people are tre

ALL WE SAY by Ben Rhodes This book reflects on our American History through 15 speeches, starting with Benjamin Franklin advocating for an, “Aye” vote in support of the US Constitution. Ben is in my top five favorite Americans and two others are included in this book with speeches which can be accessed below: Abraham Lincoln and FDR. When you think of why speeches in the day went on for so long, I have come to appreciate that in 1787 or 1864, they were in fact a form of enter

Says Brasil to me Hung in my neighborhood. Google it!

Interesting things since the last post: I broke my right clavicle riding my bike; so far so good. This was a first broken bone. World Cup Fifa was seen on a large screen outside with a couple thousand people on Puget Sound. Pretty cool! Fat lady 7/11 Shows: PBS Ken Burns biography of Mark Twain Peacock: Correction--the future is here crime drama with a great cast. Interesting Facts: mean age of a senator: 65 years Half of all money donated to politics comes from 66

Riding my bicycle in Mid April, I listened to a few essays by CS Lewis. I can't touch CS Lewis on many fronts and admire him greatly. While I don’t share his faith, I have always enjoyed the challenge he brings to a discussion of modern life and the assumptions I have about it. Of course, the modern life he reflected on was that of between the World Wars in England which is as different to us here and now as the antebellum South. Yet unlike that Southern world, for me, he mak

My mid-life crisis was not about having an affair, it was about changing the focus of my work. I went into “administration and management.” It turned out way less expensive than having an affair. And I learned a lot. For example, “One’s sense of satisfaction is a function of one’s expectations.” Works in business, works in life. Retirement found me without a lot of expectations and I have been filling time in various ways with various expectations. One of my projects was to

the little plaque says, "If you are lucky enough to live near a lake, you are lucky enough. wish I had penned this one.... That is news cycle and doom scrolling.... I did pen this one!

2026 May: MUSIC Crossroads: Gurff Morlix A Ship Without a Sail: Loudon Wainwright III Waiting for You: Nick Cave and the Bad Seed The Purchaser’s Option: Rhiannon Giddens Unusual Things: Jury Duty was assigned but they never wanted me I went to the Tacoma ICE facility and interviewed two detainees Budos Band--I have a relative in that band and went to a sort of family reunion to watch them in Tacoma. Books: How the South Won the Civil War. Cox Richardson—I am reminded that Ch

I hope this is real and not AI nonsense Contemplating the war and "splaining" the war. It was fun!

Patients Come Second, Paul Spielgelman/Britt Berrett I was a administrator/manager at Group Health Cooperative from 2002 to 2009. I had no training to do that work. As a consequence, I went to innumerable courses and read many books. A favorite reference book was, If Disney Ran your Hospital which has a catchy title and which posed a question with a not-obvious answer: What do you think the “prime directive” or Mission of the Disney Company is? The answer: “Safety. No one g

I grew up in Coronado, California. When asked where I am from, I usually respond, “San Diego.” This is in part because of the gentrification of Coronado since I left in 1970, and the associated sense of not wanting to be judged for having grown up with a silver spoon….Coronado to people my mother’s age would react to, “Coronado,” with enthusiasm inevitably talking about that time the family stayed at the Hotel Del, Coronado’s most famous tourist attraction. To a younger au

Podcast. Blue dog radio. The doctor will see you now 3/24 A democrat in a red district gets elected to the California legislature She is now running for congress Unusual evewnts: Richard Thompson in concert Interviewed to participate in a site visit of an ICE detention facility in Tacoma. Music: My Town. Iris DeMent Gentle on My Mind. Billy Bragg, Joe Henry Hard day on the Planet. Loudon Wainwright III Sweetheart on the Barricades. R Thompson Streaming. Rooster HMO m

When I saw and then read The Great Santini , I was stimulated by memories and a time and place always there, but marginally relevant in the here and now—or, maybe not; do you ever forget your roots? My step father was no aviator nor was he a Marine, but my mother was a military brat herself—her father was a career Marine, a good friend of Chesty Puller, and an eventual Quartermaster General for the Marine Corps. My brother and my nephew were in the US Army. I happily, never

Military Brats : Wertsch This book, published in 1991, offers a fascinating look at a subculture that still exists: that of children raised within a career military family. She, like me, is a baby-boomer and her history and that of the 80 military brats interviewed for the book reflect that time-frame with the father being the link to the military life. She was inspired to write the book after seeing The Great Santini which I recognized when it came out as something full of

ARTICLES: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/opinion/marie-gluesenkamp-perez.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share Stop Meeting Students Where They Are https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/youth-reading-books-professors/685825/?utm_medium=offsite&utm_source=flipboard&utm_campaign=all https://apple.news/Afs2aTGc8Soqh8yCS5j1DLA Cruise line rules are not what you thin--having said that, what were some of these people thinking--about even going ashore? Unusual things this month: We

I'VE BEEN BIKING A LOT THIS MARCH GET VACCINATED! ARE YOU GLAD TO SEE ME OR ........ MAYBE......