18 giugno
Here is no. 200 since I started the blog from Nascondiglio di Bacco and I would like to dedicate this one to my old partner of 16 years, Joe Roh. Joe was one of the best surgeons in Kansas City and certainly in my case it was a better "marriage" with him than my real one, albeit celibate. Joe just had a major stroke and probably won't be able to continue as a surgeon. I hope he will rehabilitate enough to have a long and happy life, but we don't know for sure right now. Joe worked and worked and worked just like most of us americans, happy with our 2-3 weeks of vacation (usually one week at a time) per year and then we are penalized by more work, before and after the vacation (as make-up) than we would think possible. I quit the race 2 years ago and didn't know I was so stressed or unhappy until I spent one of the best years of my life at the University of Gastronomic Science here in Italy. My fellow classmates at UNISG said they could see the change in me inside of 2 weeks as I became less stressed and more like my old self which disappeared after residency I imagine. My buddy Doug, from Belton said it best, "When they quit hitting your thumb with a hammer, it sure feels good!" What I hope to impart here is we don't live forever and we don't stay healthy forever. There are so many more important things in life than work and money like God, family and personal well-being ("I am 3rd", alla Gayle Sayers). How many times have we watched a very successful, hard working person work hard and save all their lives just to contract a terminal illness just after their retirement?
I hope we americans can slow down a bit and take a little more time for ourselves to recuperate, rejuvenate and go forward with a new attitude and freshness. The europeans, almost without exception, take a month of vacation a year. With that and the mediterranean diet, we could live forever and happily, non?
I hope Joe and Lynn can come visit me here and recuperate a bit as there is truly no stress, noise or "have-to's" here at Nascondiglio di Bacco.
All the flowers above (Rose, citronella, sunflower and onion) are from our garden and for Joe who probably can't have real flowers in the ICU, but my prayers and thoughts are with you partner!
Guarisci presto, amico!
dds
1 comment:
I agree w/what you are saying in your post, but it's ingrained in American culture. Can't take a vacay b/c it's time off from getting rich. Btw, your KC Royals are playing my SF Giants in KC this weekend. They should call it the Toilet Bowl, b/c that is where both teams are playing at the moment. KC is at the rim and trying to climb its way out, but SF is swirling down the drain. Nice metaphor, eh?
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