Bad timing

I knew the President was scheduled to be in town yesterday (for a rally speech at Rollins College).

The local newspaper and news show reported "some streets will close temporarily for the President's motorcade."

(The motorcade has two parts: the first is the secure package-usually 2 limousines that are heavily guarded by local law enforcement and the secret service (all cars are driven by professional drivers) and the second part-vans that transport White House staff members and select members of the press, vans for communications, an ambulance and additional police vehicles)

I was out making home visits.

I was approximately ten miles from Rollins College but when I left one home to go to another, ALL the streets in the vicinity were shut down (I was ten miles from Rollins College, but was only about 3 miles from the executive airport where he had flown into town...my bad!).

I tried multiple short cuts and alternative routes but to no avail.

I finally settled in and spent 50 minutes sitting in my car waiting for the motorcade to appear and to pass (a police presence precedes the beginning of the presidential motorcade to clear the way and to block traffic).

I came across some previous articles on the Presidential motorcade. One stated, "it's exciting when you spot a motorcade, but once the initial thrill is gone, well, you find yourself cursing the motorcade's existence as you wait for the long flow of vehicles to pass by."

I can confirm that this is a true statement.

On further reflection, however, given the evil presence in the world, I wouldn't want it any other way. I spent the rest of the day behind schedule but had a good excuse.

It's Friday!

Some quick Maya Angelou quotes:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”

“Most people don’t grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging.”

“Nothing can dim a light which shines from within.”

And finally, “I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”

I can't drive anymore?

Obviously, most adults cannot fathom being questioned about their ability to drive safely.

It's stressful at any age, including the very elderly. "American life is built around the car. More than just getting around, driving has an emotional component. It represents competence, independence, and freedom."

Statistics confirm that the absolute number of accidents in the elderly is much lower than the younger population, but the percentage of accidents PER MILES DRIVEN is much greater.

Also it's hard to estimate the number of accidents that occur behind an impaired driver who continued on his/her way, unaware of the commotion that occurred behind him/her.

In Florida, to report a possibly impaired driver, go to the following website:

http://www.flhsmv.gov/FloridaGrandDriver/reportUnsafeDriver.html

It's confidential.

"What happens when I send the report in to the department?
Reports are carefully screened by medical disability specialists and forwarded to investigators who work for the department. These investigators make contact with the driver and submit reports on their findings to the medical review section in Tallahassee. Investigators may interview family members, neighbors, or the driver’s physician as part of the investigation. As a result, drivers may be requested to submit a medical report from their physician, or they may be required to report to a driver license office for re-testing if necessary. If the investigator does not find any substance or validity to the complaint, no further action is taken."

A great gig at the time

In the late 1940's, Mr. F. was a teenager (he's now 79 years old).

He grew up in Brooklyn, NY.

He would ride his bicycle around town for hours everyday.

One day he stopped to try and look over a wall that surrounded a Mansion.

He was pretty sure it was the home of someone in the Mob.

"Hey kid," yelled a security guard, "come over here."

"I was always a pretty confident kid and I knew I hadn't done anything wrong," said Mr. F., "so I went on over instead of running away."

"Do me a favor," asked the security guard, "go pick me up a copy of the Daily News and the Daily Mirror and bring them back. Here's a dollar (both papers only cost 3 cents a piece)."

"I brought the papers back and he told me to keep the change. 94 cents! That was a lot of money for a kid back then. Hey mister, I asked the guard, do you want me to bring you the papers tomorrow? For about the next year and a half I made almost 5 dollars a week. I didn't tell any of my friends. They just thought it was always great I  had some change and could occasionally buy them a piece of candy."

Just an Olympic Silver?

Elizabeth Beisel, a 19 year-old American was favored going into the 400 meter IM Olympic final.

She lost to Ye Shiwen, a 16 year-old from China.

After the race, the NBC interviewer asked her a question along the lines of, "how disappointed are you in your performance having only received the Silver medal?"

She was mature beyond her years when she answered, "you know, everyone was so nervous before the race and I did my best. I'm really proud to have won a Silver medal at the Olympics."

I couldn't agree more.

Maybe interviewers would stop asking such idiotic questions if more athletes gave a similar answer?

Probably not, unfortunately.

What second stop?

We went on two more college tours recently for our son who is entering his senior year of high school.

Both are highly rated private colleges with a tuition in the $50,000/year range.

Both had an information session, by an admissions counselor, prior to the tour.

At the first stop, the admissions counselor made a comment along the lines of, "from the minute your child steps foot on this campus, he/she will have a faculty adviser assigned to assist in helping your child determine an area of interest, through course analysis and personality testing, so that he/she will have a career path in mind after the first year of study and to make sure he/she will graduate within 4 years."

At the second stop, the admissions counselor made a comment along the lines of, "we're a liberal arts college. Students need to explore their inner feelings here in depth. We encourage them to take a smattering of courses, take reduced hours if stressed-out, take a semester off if needed, experiment with different paths of study, take a broad spectrum of courses for the joy of learning...most will not graduate within 4 years, but that's OK. They should take as long as they need to find themselves."

On returning home, my wife and I made a pact to never mention the second school out loud ever again. We will also be keeping an eye out to get rid of any correspondence (snail mail or e-mails) from the school who must not be named (for the Harry Potter fans).

Trying hard not to become a computer

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) has definitely had an impact on the Physician-Patient relationship.

Here are a few of my thoughts from an article just published on the Physicans Practice website:

http://www.physicianspractice.com/print/article/1462168/2090136?printable=true