Worth reading

If you like Northern Exposure then you’ll enjoy this letter from Joel to his friend from School.

Mr. Steven Cohen, Esq.
129 W. Summer
Pittsburgh!, PA

Dear Steve,

Before we go any further: jump to the end of the letter and look at my name, which I artfully omitted from the return address. I’ll wait here.

Yeah – Alaska. Surprised? How do you think I feel? But first: so you’re in Pittsburgh! They say, contrary to what they say, it’s nice. And you’re a Legal Services attorney. I’m impressed. But not at all that impressed, since I’m the medical equivalent, at least for four years.

This is not exactly where I expected to end up after med school. But I reject that. This is by no stretch of the imagination “ending up”. It is a stint of public service in return for value received – ie, the state paid my med school tuition, and in return I serve as in-house doc for four years in a sub-Arctic hellhole. Okay, it’s not that bad. A sub-Arctic heck-hole. It’s like going from ROTC into the Army, except the food is worse. Actually I’ve already been here two years, so I plan to get used to it any day now.

I’m writing because my mother sent me an old, dead, mossgreen Camp Indian Head staff sweatshirt from our summer camp days. Because I’m a good son, I tried it on. Small? The sleeves stop halfway down my forearms. I look like one of those depraved hillbillies you see on Appalachian documentaries on PBS, and you think, “Thank God I don’t look like that“. (Is “hillbillies” politically correct? I meant, “Lower-Class, Rural, Gene-Pool Challenged Americans”.)

Anyway, the shirt made me think of you, so I thought I’d say hello. I don’t usually do things like that (i.e., “say hello”) because I usually don’t have the time or energy. But I find myself awake now at 4:18 AM and not a bit sleepy. Which is very odd. So I called my mother (it’s after 8:00 AM in NY – they’re up) and got your address, which she had on file from your mother. Yes, like the old tv commercial used to say: “Without mothers, life itself would be impossible”.

Let me stop on that thought-provoking note. Please write back, thus proving you got this. And if you didn’t get this, write back and let me know, and I’ll send it again. Meanwhile, it’s almost 4:21, and I feel fine.

PS – I know. At camp we were seventeen. Now we’re – well, you’re – thirty. (Me, not quite.) Sorry.

Add comment November 3rd, 2002

Don’t panic! Don’t panic!

The city is collapsed. Many of the 4 million inhabitants in Madrid are trying to leave the city taking advantage of the fact that today is a national holiday and they can spend a long weekend -most probably- at the beach. I realised this morning when going to a training session… I know the place looks posh but it’s cheaper than most gyms in Madrid.

Add comment November 1st, 2002