Order Farm to Table here! In the first half of my book I write about growing up in an Amish family on a farm in northern Arkansas. My parents lived in a traditional Old Order Amish community in Daviess County, Indiana, but they did not approve of some customs of
In January 2010, I gave a talk to the Caducean Society of Greater Ft Lauderdale (made up of physicians who give a 3-minute presentation about something of interest in their specialty) about a patient I had treated who had shot himself in his head with an industrial nail gun,
In 1983, two years after we had moved to Ft Lauderdale from Portland, Oregon, Michele and I were enamored by seeing the Surrounded Islands, an unique artistic exhibition that could be found about 30 miles south of us in Biscayne Bay. Miami was still in the throes of the partisan
When Michele and I recently visited our friend, Wayne, who lives near Diamond Head, we took early morning walks along Diamond Head road next to the extinct volcano. Tropical Storm Fausto had just passed by northern island chain and we observed a large number of surfers riding the waves toward
My first cousin, Ira Wagler, published a New York Times best-selling memoir titled, Growing up Amish (2010) that tells the story of leaving his Old Order Amish family and church at age twenty-six. Ira was torn by family ties and the attachment to his church so that in
While writing my memoir I was often asked when my book would be completed and become available. I now have good news--an actual copy of my book is in my hand and is called a proof. (It was formerly called a galley proof that referred to a long tray
My first condor The Passenger Pigeon was our largest and most colorful wild pigeon but became extinct when the last pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. It was once the most abundant bird in North America. After the Civil War, these pigeons were observed migrating in gigantic flocks,
While growing up during the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s my brothers and I often saw B-52 bombers flying over the Ozark skies. The plane had a distinctive appearance but we usually identified the airplane before we saw it because of its unique sound. I have some
July 4, 2023 The earliest firecrackers date back to China in the 2nd century BCE when bamboo stalks were placed on a fire to keep evil spirits away. The heated stalks exploded with a popping sound and led to the development of firecrackers. During the Tang Dynasty, 600-900 CE,
Michele and I recently visited the Congressional Library in Washington DC, the largest such library in the world, housing 2.9 million documents. It prominently displays the Gutenberg Bible (one of 21 copies still in existence) produced by Johann Guntenberg in Mainz, Germany in 1455, based on the text of
Approaching the American Falls As the last scheduled event for the Center for Inquiry conference that I attended recently in Buffalo, NY, a group of us participants piled into two buses and made the forty-minute ride to the Niagara Falls. Enroute, our guide quizzed us with obscure facts about
Tunnel at the beginning At the end of our 17-day tour of the northwest African coastal region, Michele and I flew from Marrakesh, Morocco to Paris for the last leg of our trip. Both Michele and Megan urged me to visit the Paris Catacombs, something I had missed on
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During a week-long cruise along the northwest African coast, Michele and I joined a day excursion from the port city of Agadir, Morocco (founded by the Portuguese in 1505) on a bus that traveled inland through the arid countryside with fields and olive trees. We passed villages, some in
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Mexican tree cacti Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962), was born to a famous Art Nouveau furniture designer in Nancy, France, who wanted him to study architecture, but Jacques chose to study art at the Académie Julian in Paris. During his formative years, he lived in Egypt for a few years where
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Blog No 26. The Desert Snake--the World's Longest Train Michele and I returned from a 22-day journey to northwest Africa with a stopover in Paris. The highlight was a week voyage on the Swan Hellenic Diana, a 5-star polar ship (a class of its own)
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Large synovial cyst at L4-L5 Soon after I began practicing neurosurgery, I wrote, “Why Back Surgery Has a Bad Name,” that was published in my local medical society’s periodical. Essentially, nothing has changed. The main reason for “failed back surgery” is because the patient was not a suitable
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In 2018, my brothers Alvin, Garner, and I, with a few close friends, camped in this wildlife refuge southwest of Oklahoma City at the beginning of April. Fortunately, our friend Jack T had just acquired a huge shelter that along with a fire, shielded us from a cold front that
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In December 2015, my brother Alvin, our nephew Ruben and I spent a week birding at Cape Cod and the surrounding area. Ruben and his brother Victor, recognized as champion birders, won the Big Year Lower 48 in 2022, shattering the previous record by some by 24 species. Thankfully, our
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Michele, Megan, Alec and I departed Miami's international airport shortly before midnight in the summer of 2005, bound for Buenos Aires, and arrived at the capital of Argentina in the middle of winter. We did the usual tourist routine, visiting the soccer stadium outside the city, marveled at
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About 10 years ago I attached a birdhouse made for screech owls to the trunk of our large gumbo limbo tree in our front yard as I knew we had Eastern Screech owls living in our area. These owls as well as hawks and crows now live in cities as
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Immediately after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a committee was appointed to design a seal for the new nation of the United States. After six years of work by the committee, the Great Seal of the United States was adopted by the Continental
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Michele and I visited Greece in 2009 and enjoyed seeing important historical sites as well as staying several nights on the exquisite island of Santorini. But nothing satisfied me more than a short side trip we took by bus, traveling from Athens to Thessaly into north central Greece to visit
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In October 2013, Michele and I traveled to the tropical island of Dominica and stayed at Rosalie Bay Resort on the east side of the island. It was wonderful way to rejuvenate from work as well as to escape the spectacle of the major news outlets having a fit because
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The Milky Way on a moonless night devoid of light pollution or a ferocious thunderstorm with lightning and thunder should inspire awe in the most jaded mind, but the two natural phenomena that represent the best that Nature has to offer is a total eclipse of the Sun and a