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My Back Pages: Mother's Day : Mothers..... where would we be without them? Well, for one thing, we would not exist... no miracles coming from someone's rib.. no gro...

Mothers..... where would we be without them? Well, for one thing, we would not exist... no miracles coming from someone's rib.. no growing in a test tube somewhere, we simply would not be without one. For that reason, and for that reason  alone, we should bow down and thank them.. but that is not all there is to being a mother.. or having one.   Whether your memory is of a woman in an apron who cleaned the house, cooked meals for you, did all the shopping and the heavy lifting around the house, while your father went off to work; or if it is of a multi-tasking, modern day mother, holding down a job, running a household, raising 2.5 children, and scheduling playdates and organizing all of the modern child's out of the home activities. Either way... she is the one who worried incessantly about your health and welfare, jumping up and taking your temperature at the first sneeze, comforting you when you hurt yourself, making sure that you eat a good meal (I won't get i...

My Back Pages: Regrets... : I wish I could paint. Oh, not just slop some paints on a canvas and call it my artwork, really paint what my eye tells my mind that it see...

I wish I could paint. Oh, not just slop some paints on a canvas and call it my artwork, really paint what my eye tells my mind that it sees. I am convinced that we all see things slightly differently.. pick out different subtleties in the world around us as it presents itself. I am quite envious of those who can. What remarkable beauty they can lay out on a canvass. I wish that I could paint, especially now, at my late age. Not only do I see things differently than others, I see things more intensely, more acutely, than my younger self. That young man was much too busy working and interacting with his co-workers, bosses, wife and children to notice the world around him.. at least, not as I do now. I used to be able to draw a bit when I was young, but that talent, sadly, has left me as the years flew past. Oh, to have taken advantage of that little trace of talent that I had. You have to nurture these things, coddle and work with them so that they may grow and bloom...

My Back Pages: Healthcare and the Silent War Against Community Ho... : Last Thursday, I had to visit our beautiful Putnam Hospital Center's ER. That in itself is not unusual, given the the different health i...

Last Thursday, I had to visit our beautiful Putnam Hospital Center's ER. That in itself is not unusual, given the the different health issues that I have accumulated along with the years in my life. I was struck by how quiet it was. Ten years ago, I would have had to be triaged first, then, according to how serious my problem  was, I would have to wait a period of time to see a doctor. This day, there was no waiting. This hospital has been thoroughly updated and is clean and modern with a friendly, caring staff who will do whatever it takes to make the patient comfortable. After being thoroughly checked out, I was released and told to follow up with my doctor within 48 hours.  The next day, I went in to see him. After he checked me over, we sat and talked for a while, as we do whenever I see him. He has been my doctor for over thirty years, and I am one of his first patients.. We have become friends, as well as doctor patient. The talked turned to the beautiful hosp...

My Back Pages: School Days, and This Old Man.. :    Dedicated to the Memory of Marvin Bookbinder: A dedicated educator, and a really decent, caring man. Mr. Bookbinder, I'm so sorry t...