Like parents, doctors are not supposed to have favorites. Nonetheless, we do, and Carol was one of my favorites. She was older than me in years yet younger than me in every other way. She was also a deeply religious woman and one of the only people I would discuss religion with. I always felt better after I saw Carol, her smile and her laughter could lift your soul.
While it has been too long since I saw her, much of her conversation revolved around the Mideast and recent events reminded me of how much I missed seeing and talking to her. Yesterday, I requested that she “friend me” and this morning I was informed of her passing. It hit me like a ton of bricks. In my mind, she was just as young as when I left Illinois.
Carol always had a lesson for me, and this time was no different. My lesson was: old men should not text at 3 am while crying. While my condolences were generally intelligible, spell check and the AI made it sound like I was drunk. That is not a bad idea.
I have had a hard few weeks. Cindy, my dear friend and office manager for 30 years, passed as well. She became family and I’m not dealing with her loss very well. Living so far away is difficult at times like this. I needed to be at the funeral. I needed to say a few words. Unfortunately, I was not well enough to travel. I wouldn’t have been able to talk anyway. I get all choked up just thinking about it.
Right now, I’ll take solace in knowing that I have two new angels in heaven watching over me.
Here is today’s joke:
There’s a plane going down over the desert with only 3 parachutes on board. There are four people onboard, the smartest man in the world, the best doctor in the world, an old priest, and a young nerd.
The doctor says, “People need me for my medical skills.” grabs the first parachute pack, and jumps. The smartest man in the world says, “People need me for my intelligence.” grabs a pack, and jumps. The old priest says, “I have lived a long and happy life. You take the last chute.”
The nerd says, “Don’t worry. There are enough chutes for the both of us. The smartest man in the world just grabbed my backpack.”
