Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

Marginal Notes: Cousas do Mar (Things of the Sea)

 

“Clemente’s father lost one of his fishing boats,” my wife tells me over morning coffee in the kitchen. Clemente is the novio of my niece in Spain; they are to be married next summer. His father owns a fleet of commercial fishing boats.

    “Where?” I ask.

    “Off the coast of Ireland. It went down in rough seas.”

    I take a sip of coffee, recalling the refrain of an old Galician sea chanty—

 

Da Estaca de Bares ó Cabo Ortegal

Hay unha lanchiña que vai naufragar,

Que vai naufragar, que vai naufragar,

Non chores Maruxa, son cousas do mar.

 

At Estaca de Bares or the Ortegal Cape

A little boat is going to sink

Going to sink, going to sink,

Don’t cry, Maria, these are but things of the sea.

 

After a brief silence I say, “How many men were lost?” >>more

 

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Nina's Musical Canon

As the project for a class on the Medical Humanities, Williams College sophomore, Nina Piazza created her Musical Canon. One usually thinks of a canon as a collection of literary works.  Nina has taken the concept to another level. 

Music has always been a driving force in my life, ever since I began to learn to play the piano at the age of six. I never really embraced classical music until I started to play it myself. Since then, it has inspired and changed me. Music, of all sorts, has been here for me throughout my whole life. I love books and reading, but they have never provided the emotional connection that music has.  Nina.

You may contact Nina at: NP Email.

 

 

Claude Debussy's La Fille Aux Cheveaux de Lin is the first piece on her Canon.

Here are the links to the rest::

2. Rilo Kiley: Science vs. Romance

3. Creston: Concertino for Marimba

4. Hancock: Chamelion

5. Stravinsky: L'Oiseau de Feu

6. Mitchell: The Circle Game

7. Holst: Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity

8. The Beatles: Blackbird

9. Chopin: Nocturne #1 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27

10. Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, The Grand Gate at Kiev

Here's Nina's complete canon in an easy to read format: Download My Musical Canon.

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Marginal Notes: To Poets Unpublished

Cell2Soul—first the online journal, later the blog—was originally conceived by the editors in part to be a venue where struggling writers, artists and photographers could see their creative compositions appear in electronic print.  For decades, perhaps centuries, much artistic talent never saw the light of publishing day; mostly because the industry scrutinized what went into print—and was highly particular in its selections.

Here is my humble tribute to those myriad unknown writers, poets and artists down through the decades. >>more

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

"The Right Time:" A Post from Kauai

These days, Larry Zaroff may be spotted cycling along Poipu's peaceful byways in search of inspiration, papayas or the Garlic Shrimp Lady's van. When not wintering on Kauai's South Shore, this retired cardiac surgeon teaches  medical humanities at Stanford where he inspires future physicians and scientists to appreciate the amazing vistas beyond the laboratory. 

In The Right Time, Larry pays tribute to the mentor who inspired and encouraged him in  his path towards enlightenment.  Her teachings inform his Stanford classes.

In her book Between Doctors and Patients: The Changing Balance of Power, Lilian Furst wrote: “The physician is empowered by virtue of knowledge, while the patient is submissive because of need.” Lilian Furst died on September 11, 2009. At the end - not needy, not submissive - Furst in her seventies seized the power of death over life."

Here is Larry's moving tribute to his teacher, Lilian Furst: Download THE RIGHT TIME   

You can contact Larry at LZ Email.

Marginal Notes: The Sensual Sea

Hemingway wrote that la mar is what the Cuban fishermen call the sea when they love her.  For his fictional old man, the sea was always feminine, even though in the Spanish language the sea is traditionally masculine, el mar.  “The old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them.” >>more

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Spinal Tap

by Diane Bechtler

The brochure was titled “Care Following Your Lumbar Puncture."  It could easily have said “Preparing for a Metal Rod to Be Shoved in Your Back.” Because I'd had one spinal tap in Charlotte, I thought I knew what it would be like.  However, like childbirth, each spinal is an act unto itself. While the Mayo doctor shot my lower back full of Lidocaine, she asked about my previous experience...  Read more: Download Spinal Tap  

Ms. Bechtler lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, Michael Gross, a poet with a day job, and with their cat, Call Me IshMeow. As well as writing short work, she is looking for an agent for her memoir, which is about learning to live with brain disease. She has an undergraduate degree in English from Queens University where she graduated summa cum laude and subsequently earned her MFA. Email:  dianamoATcarolina.rr.com 

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Marginal Notes: When the soul breaks

Physicians who have been sued are changed people.  Many of them are resilient and return to medical practice—with a healthy dose of mistrust and a touch of paranoia.  Others elect to leave the profession entirely.  Those who continue to practice remain vigilant, ever mindful that at some point they can be sued again. >>more

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

If Air Travel Was Run Like Health Care...

Jonathon Rauch, a staff writer at the National Journal has written a compelling article on Health Care delivery.  The seven minute video based on this is brilliant, funny, poignantly true and more direct..  It summarizes the frustrations patients and care givers deal with daily in the attempt to navigate the medical-industrial complex.  For a memorable video see: You Tube.

"Hello! Thank you for calling Air Health Care, the airline that works like the health care system. My name is Cynthia. I will provide you with outstanding service. How can I give you travel care today?"

Rauch's essay can be read at the National Journal.

Strangely, this video recalled a fine skit the late Hawaiian comedian, Rap Repleinger, produced in the 1980s.  This, too is available on You Tube.  See:  Room Service.

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Onset by Susan Palwick

The year the terrors came,
she hid her face in mirrors
as her skin dissolved to sand.
 
She fled through the canyons of her kitchen,
its knives sharp against her skull,
prodding treacherous bone.
 
The town ticked on, a broken toy,
spinning banks and cars and swimming pools.
There was nothing to report, and no one to believe her.
 
Every night she swallowed darkness,
a suffocating jelly, and stumbled
through labyrinths of shadow.
 
Every morning
the sky broke into flowers
to which she dared not climb.

To see a better formatted version go to: Download Onset

Author Bio:  Susan Palwick is Associate Professor of English at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she specializes in teaching fiction writing, and Associate Clinical Professor of Medical Education at the UNV School of Medicine, where she specializes in Narrative Medicine.  She volunteers as a lay chaplain in a local ER.  Ms. Palwick has published three novels (from Tor Books) and a story collection (from Tachyon Publications), all science fiction or fantasy, and is currently writing a fourth, non-fantastical novel.  Her medical poetry is published or forthcoming in The Yale Journal of the Humanities in Medicine and Hospital Drive.  She and her husband live with three cats in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. You may contact her at: SusanPalATaol.com

amaranthine: a poem

by Craig Dabney, a Stanford undergraduate and protegee of Larry Zaroff.

we have seen atrocities together,
love. we have the forearm
numbers to prove our suffering
but that's not something I ever wanted
to show. how long have I known
you, love?   <Download Amaranthine>

Craig Dabney is a junior at Stanford University. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology with a concentration in International Health and a minor in Creative Writing. You may contact Craig at: email.