May 30, 2013 Telephone Shopping

Shopping for a new mobile phone got me to thinking about the phone of the past and how it was used.
First, remembrance when phones were not mobile.  They were stationery then. They either sat on a desk/table or hung on a wall.  If you were away from home  you had to enter a big coffin like box, put some  coins in a slot and dial a number by spinning a wheel. The clicking of the dial was the assurance that the number you wanted was effectively entered.  If you didn't have the coins you could dial O and tell another human being (the operator who was always a lady) to reverse the charges.  That  in itself was a test of the degree of friendship.  If the other party  would not accept the charges they were either not close family or close friend.
The phone number began with two letters which which represented a word.  Our home number began with IN- Independence, My Aunts number was HI- Hickory, My Grandparents was FL- Flatbush.

The first phone I recall was a black box device that sat on a round "phone table" .  There was actually a piece of furniture specifically designed for that purpose.  It was two layered table. On the second layer sat a "phone book", actually two books, the white pages for personal numbers and the yellow pages which was for business.
The second phone i remembered was a pink phone that hung on the kitchen wall.  My mother  often used that phone to make a faux call to the "bad boys home" when we misbehaved.  It  took awhile for us to figure out that the voice on the other end was that of my Aunt Mary who was duplicitous in this attempt to get us to behave.

My first phone as an adult was a "princess phone".   I also recall that one didn't buy a phone  one merely subscribed for the service from the singular service provider "AT & T. ( the American Telegraph and Telephone  Company).  The company provided the phone.

Phones back then  provided for oral to aural communication, only.
Today i had to think about whether i wanted a camera, whether i wanted an android or apple sytsem, if  i wanted 3G, 4S or 4 G, a qwerty key board or a touchscreen   Not to mention the provider- AT& T, Bing, T mobile, Virgin, or Verizon.
There were so many choices that i could not make a choice,  I long for the "old days of simplicity".

May 29, 2013 Child protection memories!

Had to attend a Child Safety Certification Class.  It brought to mind some childhood memories that today would be suspect  Among them were swimming classes at the local YMCA.  For some reason the classes were held,  What we used to refer to as BA (bare ass),  with no bathing suits.
The Boy Scout leaders were always in the tents with us.  The Little League coach would regularly buy us ice cream. After football practice or games we all showered together, including the coaches.  Some of this today would be identified as "grooming".  I had to take the subway to high school, without adult supervision. On the subway getting "grabbed" was not unusual. The many times  I spent in the ER getting patched up from falls and accidents would today be "signs of abuse" that would incur investigation.  We trick or treated by ourselves often going into the homes to get  the treat.
I don't mean to demean what we must do to protect our children but  just some memories

May 28, 2013 early nursing memories

A young man was referred to me seeking a job.  He is a fresh new BSN graduate. I was flattered that i was approached but it certainly brought back memories of my early nursing career.  After graduating I was immediately back in the Army.  I had opted to specialize in operating room nursing at first.
The  schooling at that time was a 6 month program.  I was sent to Walson Army Hospital in Fort Dix NJ.  It was a pretty busy OR. The morning would start with us washing down the Operating rooms.  We would then prepare the instruments to be ready for the surgeons arrival at 0700.  Between each case the room had to be re washed.  After the days surgeries we went to central supply .We made our own  saline solutions,  washed and processed bloody lap pads, sharpen our own needles  on a whetstone, make suture packs, prepare dressings, folded gowns and masks, and sterilized equipment.  all of which today is pre done by the manufacturers of disposables.  Back then everything was reusable.

The surgical procedures were all open,  no mini incisions, no '''oscopies of any kind.  The anesthetic agents waifed through the air.  Ether , chloroform, cyclopropane- it was a wonder our livers did not cease to  function.  At the end of the week we were required to empty all the shelves of equipment , wipe every thing with alcohol.

An OR nurses job was never done!

May 26, 27 2013 Quiet Memories!

Memorial Day! No time for shopping Just remembering those who were at my left and my right!  exiting the plane in Ton Son Nhut air base. Gazing to the left to see a stack of coffins being prepared to return home! Gazing to my right to see a convoy of ambulances with the wounded being prepared to be evacuated.

Dallas, who picked up a booby trapped toy! rest in peace!

Not only those who died but those whose lives were marred from their time in combat.
My Uncle Willie, who survived WW II  was at D Day and  liberated a death camp, who found it difficult to love.

My paternal grandfather who was "shell shocked" in WWI who found it difficult to communicate.

May 25, 2013 Graduations and Limoncello

Going the a party celebrating the daughter of a friend high school graduation kicked  a memory of my graduations in the past.
there was none from 6th grade to junior high school. I left junior high school to go to high school.  High school graduation from Brooklyn Tech was less then personal.  our school had 2000 graduates.  Even though the auditorium was the second largest in the city (second only to radio city music hall).  we still had to graduate in stages.  A-L names graduated in the AM, M-Z in the after PM.
 there was no grand march of my cohort of 1000.  we merely sat with or families Our designated position was in the right side of the balcony.  Our name were called and we stood in our places.  no marching across the stage.  Can you imagine how long it took to read off 1000 names.  Thankfully mine was at the end but my friend Nat Abramson had to stand for a very long time.
We went back to  our home room classroom to actually get the diploma. The most memorable part of high school graduation was that the ladies in the brothels that surrounded the school stood on their stoops and applauded us when we exited the school in our caps and gowns.
College graduation was in a open field between  the LIU Campus on Flatbush avenue and the Fort Greene Park on DeKalb Ave.  That was not a pleasant neighbor at the time so we we had assigned  mounted (on horseback) police officers surrounding the ceremony.  To put this in perspective watch the movie Serpico.  LIU was in his precinct.

Now on to the Limoncello. The father of the graduate has some on ice so we shared a glass(es).
The first time I tasted limoncello was in Rome. Paula and I were there celebrating an anniversary.  Our waiter was a blond man from Naples (that initself was surprise).  After a superb dinner they brought us digestivos.  To paula they presented a chilled  limoncello.  to me they presented a chilled grappa.
having tasted the limoncello i asked if i could have some.  I was instructed  that in Italy limoncello was "soltante per la femina." " per l'oumo sempre grappa".  Who would think  liquours had gender.

To all the graduates out there a bit of advice.  "allow yourself to make a mistake and learn from it.  Its good for the soul!"

May 24, 2013 Bittersweet Memory

I had to ask permission.  It is a bittersweet memory of my first wedding date in 1969.  The sweet part is. I was the groom and Marguerite (nee Hoffmann) was the bride.  We met through a fraternity brother.  she was from Rennselear NY, the daughter of a dairy farmer studying at the Fashion Institue.  I was who I am .  We had dated for two years after I had won her telephone number in a fraternity poker game. Our decision to marry made us the first to marry in our circle of friends and in my generation.  We planned and payed for the wedding ourselves.  We were married at Blessed Sacrament Church in Bayside NY.  Our reception was at the River View, underneath the Throgs Neck Bridge.  We honeymooned in Montreal.
The bitter part was that the marriage did not last bu two years.  We got caught up in initial careers  pressure.  She worked for the children's division of Izod. I was attending  school fulltime and working fulltime.  I would leave our apartment on Otis Ave at 6AM go to school then began work at 4 PM until midnight. as well as it being the heady days of woman's liberation.  The marriage ended physically in 1971 when i returned to Viet Nam, legally in 1976 when we finally divorced.  It took a while longer for the emotional end and healing.

May 23, 2013 End of School

The time of school ending and graduation.  There was "graduation from kindergarten"  which is something I never expereinced.  The end of kindergarten for  me occurred with little fan fare.  Except for the trip to the ER for stitches.  I was running down the block toward my mother who happened to be standing in front of a brick pedestal.  Miscalculating my approach and my rate of deceleration, I managed to fun head first into the corner of the brick wall.  At the same time the ice-cream man was coming down the block.  As my head profusely bled the Good Humor man rang his bells.  Because none of the ladies on the block drove I was transported to the hospital  by the ice cream man.
 The  move from sixth grade to junior high school was also non descript.  Well except for Mrs.Tailfairs final burst of anger.  Our desks were equipped with brass ink wells.  One of my classmates did something she perceived as outrageous.  She flung the inkwell at the perpetrator, but since i was at the desk in front of him I got tagged.
i never graduated from junior I merely transferred form being a eighth grader to being a freshman at high school.

May 21, 22, 2013 oriental diversion

Was down with allergies last night thus no blog post.  Paula prepared some chicken terriyaki.  While it is Japanese it brought on a memory of Chines restaurants.  The one that that comes to mind was Lucky's.. It was one  my family frequented.  It was located on Northern Blvd in Flushing.  At the time it was  the only Chinese restaurant in town.  (now Flushing is another  Little orient in New York, there is some form of oriental restaurant on every block).  But back to Lucky's. I recall huge black banquettes.  the walls were trimmed in Red Chinese lanterns.  There was no buffets back then.  You ordered off a menu.  depending on how many in your party there were choices from column A and choices from column B.   Some times there was even a column C. Tea was always hot.   Lobster Cantonese was a family favorite along with sweet and sour  shrimp. Peking duck had to be preordered but it brought  smacks to my lips. The food came out covered in what to me seemed  like "silver" servers but i am certain it was not that  elegant.  Any way when the waiter came out there were multiples of these silver domed platters placed on the table.  I enjoyed hearing the clanging of the metal covers being removed with an oriental flair by the mustachioed waiter.  While the waiters were very polite to us customers there was a always a cacophony of loud voices coming from the kitchen every time the door swung open.
The dessert for me was always pineapple with lychees eaten with toothpicks
Lucky's was a favorite of mine and I always rejoiced when we had the opportunity to go there.  The present ubiquitous Chinese buffets with their pre prepared and predictable choices will never replace Lucky's.

May 21, 2013 General Practioners

Trying to find a new family practitioner (since our last one left town) got me to thinking about family doctors.  The first one I recall was Dr. MIlazzo. I was told that he was the one who delivered me.  Dr. Milazzo had an office attached to his home.  we were not a very sickly family but i do remember some visits to treat  a case of teenage eczema,  Which then was treated with oatmeal washes and badges to prevent me from scratching.  While I was not very sickly, however,  I was bit  accident prone.  Frequently, I had to go to the office to receive or to remove of stitches. Dr. Milazzo had a pencil mustache and was a tall stately man.  In his office waiting room I would thumb through the pages of the American Medical Journal. Because I had an interest in things medical he once introduced me to a friend of his.  Frank Netter, unbeknownst to me at the time,  was a famed anatomic artist.
The next family doctor was  Dr. Calabra  who cared for my grandparents in their elder years.  I recall when my maternal grandmother came to live with us at the end of her life.  His treatment regime was to give her a glass of brandy at night to help her rest.  Medicine then was more humanistic.  Dr. Calabra also taught me how to read EKG's when I was preparing for my paramedic certification.  His principal advise was to "cherchez  la P".  Look for the  P wave.
Just to remind myself and  others.  In the past these MD were called general practitioners.  They delivered babies, removed tonsils, treated heart  attacks, fixed hernias, and provided what is now called hospice care.

May 19, 2013 Ordination Mass of Thanksgiving

A continuation of  yesterdays blog. On the Sunday after ordination we celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving per the tradition.  It took place at the Post Chapel of Fort Dix, in the presence of the St. Joseph Military Catholic Community.  Present were Paula, young Joshua who was 4 years old at the time.  Family and friends had gathered again.  A colleague  Ray Baird was the cantor. Music was supplied by my friend from the past Gregory Leonardo who at the time was Christian Brother teaching music in Maryland.  Greg is a most accomplished organist.  We were friends and fraternity brothers since  college.  The principal celebrant was Father Higgiston.  Malachi was an army chaplain and my sponsoring priest through the  formation.  Again in accordance to tradition, at the thanksgiving mass another is the homilist.  Fr. Malachi assumed that role with delight as he did all his priestly duties.
This was the day I assumed my responsibility as servant to the People of God of this community.  However, my role there was short lived.  Within two months of ordination I received military orders to transfer to the Army Hospital at Camp Ederle in Vicenza , Italy.  It was there that my ministry began anew.  The Sunday after ordination was a day of joy and hope.

"Gaudium et spes"

May 18,2013 Ordination

I have changed the way i title the blog entries.  One because I am finding it difficult to keep up with the day count and two to give the reader some preview of what the days entry is about.

This is the 3rd Saturday of the May which coincides to ordination day in 1986  After three years of formation, prayer and discernment the day had come for the  "laying on of hands".

Paula was in the Cathedral of Saint St. Mary in Trenton N.J with family and friends.  While i was lining up with fourteen other ordinandi.  Before us were Bishop John Reiss and his auxiliary Bishop Kmeic followed by the the priests of the Diocese and my Chaplain pastor Fr.. Malachy Higgiston.  The music began with the grand chords form the organ.  The choir had been formed from various choirs of the diocese sang loudly. Upon our entrance the people stood in quiet reception.  The Liturgy of the Word was proclaimed by two of the groups wives.  Paula was one of them.  Her role there elevated the event for me, for with her  unwavering support i probably would not have gotten there.  The homilist, an older deacon reminded us of the challenge that laid before us in particular he said "you will always be answering the question of what is a deacon" then he paraphrased St. Francis by saying our response to that should come more so by what we do rather than what you say so make your response exemplified by how you serve the  People of God.  I pray that i have done his bidding.

The ordination rite is simple yet profoundly moving.

First, our wives were asked to grant permission for us to receive Holy Orders! Following this was the intonation of Litany of the Saints. The posture at this time was for each of us to lie face down on the marble floor of the Cathedral as the members of the Church Triumphant were implored for their intercession.  Although 14 others were lying around me, I felt serenely alone. We then proceeded to the seated Bishop who placed a Book of the Gospels in each of our hands as we knelt before him. The words that accompanied this act were "Receive the Book of the Gospels,whose herald you now are,  Believe what you Read, Teach what you Believe and Live what you Teach!"  Whether or not I have accomplished that will be judged by others.

The prayer of ordination was said and then each bishop silently laid  his hands  upon her heads as the Choir intoned  Venite Spiritu Sanctus.  We vowed our obedience to the Bishop and his successors.  We were then vested in our new stoles and dalmatics.  As the Mass continued i served as the deacon of the altar.  For the first time I prepared the cup with the silently said words,  "By the mingling  of this water and and wine we have come to share in your divinity as you humbled yourself to share in or humanity"

Day 30 May 17, 2013

Today was a stormy day. so storms are the subject of the memory.
In NYC the most dreaded storm is the snow storm.  Most new yorkers hate snow because it tends to jam things up for a while.  As a young lad i hated snow because it always meant that I had to shovel it. In my teenage years the family was living in the suburbs of Flushing Queens.  Dad had built a huge garage in the back of the property.  leading up to the garage was a long asphalt driveway.  it was about 150 feet long.  not long by rural standards but there was the paternal insistence that it be absolutely free of snow both during and after the storm.  We often shoveled while it was still storming down snow which is  always a futile effort.

Viet Nam led me to despise the torrential rains of the monsoons. They turned everything and everybody into mud.  While living in El Paso the sandstorms blasted the finish over my first new car.  (My Audi 100 S).  My appreciation of tornadoes came about in Enterprise, AL.  Driving home from  the post  there was a tornado damaged roadway.  On the left everything was turned about.  On the right everything remained pristine.

Storms, I believe are Gods nature's reminders that we are not in control.  so when there is a storm I lay back, take a nap, let Gods nature do its thing. Upon arising I go about to survey what has happened and offer thanksgiving if nothing dreadful happened  and a hand if something did.  Which reminds me of an old song lyric.

"when you walk through a storm keep your head up high and don't be afraid of the dark.
for at the end of the storm there is a golden sky and the sweet simple song of a lark.  Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart ...and you will never walk alone!"

Day 29 May 15, 2013

today is the  birthday of the oscar awards.  So my memories are about movies and movie theaters.
First theaters.  The theater that frequented the most was the RKO Keiths on Northern Blvd and Main Street.  It was an elegant art deco edifice with two grand curving stairs ascending from the lobby to the balcony. the lobby was illuminated by grand golden chandeliers. the carpeting was a deep maroon, the seats were a plush velour. even in the 60's there was a grand organ which was sometimes played before the cartoons started.
that brings to mind that back in my memory time a matinee showing included a cartoon or two and a double feature. my favorite movies the movie musicals of the  50's early 60's.  Westside story, fiddler on the roof, gigi, A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum,  to name a few.  my still all time favorite drama favorite is "marty" .  I enjoyed the war movies and some of the grand westerns. of the era.  As a critique, none of the movies had explosive special effect which today is an excuse for lack of talent.  Movies to me need to tell the human story, that causes  you to emote!

Day 28 May 15, 2013

Another linguistic and travel memory!  My first trip to Italy in 1979 to connect with roots.  After Venice, Florence, and Rome I made my way to Pietragalla, the town of my paternal ancestors.  To get to Pietragalla one takes a train from Rome to Naples, From Naples to Potenza, from Potenza to Pietragalla.  With each change the trains got smaller.  The last was the locomotive and a single car.
Pietragalla is a village on a mountaintop.  It is separated fro the train station by a valley.
There was a man on the rain that offered  me a ride to the town.  In searching for  "mia cugini" I found the center of the village where there was a war monument.  The monument had the name "Laurita" inscribed on three sides.  I finally found the relatives my grandmother had been writing to.  They lived in rural farm house.  While they welcomed me it was difficult to understand their rural dialect.  They contacted another nephew who was a police officer in Potenza.  When he arrived our conversation was multi lingual.  I formed my words in English spoke theme in rudimentary Italian. He translated my rudimentary italian to the  dialect..  The process was reversed with the exchange.
When super was prepared I was served a heaping plate of pasta with a sauce flavored by chicken feet. The chicken feet was also served and since i was the honored cousin from America I was served two feet to their one.

Day 27 May 14, 2013

Spent most of today studying Latin, so perhaps some memory about language studies.
In high school I did not have the opportunity to study language (because we were concentrating on science and math).  However, I spent a lot of time with grandparents and family friends who spoke, by that time, a Brooklynized version of Italian.  At high school graduation I  was accepted to Queens College but i could not matriculate until I took two semesters over the summer of a foreign language.  When it came time to register I had planned to enroll in Italian, unfortunately the Italian class was closed out. I then went to the Spanish line and found that was also closed out, the same for French  All the romance languages were gone.  There were only two languages open to enroll in.  One was Russian and the other German.  I was so disappointed.  I figured that  Russian was another  alphabet so i enrolled in German.  Unfortunately when I got to class I found that the other 6 students in this abbreviated German class were all of German descent.  While I was trying to learn to count to 10 and distinguish between der , die and das the others were reading Kafka's Metamorphesus.  Needless to say my grades were abysmal.  My first two earned college grades were D and D-.  I was not off to a good start,  but since i "passed"  i was able to matriculate!

Day 25&26 May 12 &13, 2013

To my readers my apologies for my tardiness.Sunday, of course was Mother's Day.  So some memories of  her.  Theresa Palladino was born to Giuseppe and Dorotea Palladino (nee Lotito)in 1924.  She was the middle of three daughters , Mary was the eldest and Mildred was the youngest. She spent  most of her life at 147 31 Street in Brooklyn NY. In 1943, at the age of 19 she married  Joseph Laurita.
In 1947, Joseph her eldest son was born, 14 months later myself was born, 1950 was the year that Gerald was birthed followed by Thomas in 1952.  It was 9 years later in 1961 that the youngest Robert came into the family.  She spent her life rearing us five.  She never learned to drive so she was always there when we came home from school.  Usually, she was having coffee and cake with neighbor ladies when we arrived.  My mother was a great cook. A skill she learned from my grandmothers which she passed on to her sons and daughters-in law.  My wife has most of her recipes.  Pictures proved that she partied with friends, sisters and in-laws at the famed Copacabana.  She enjoyed singing to the standards of Frank Sinatra and others of what I call "saloon singers"! She taught me to dance the Lindy Hop and the Tarantella.  She was proud of her family and her heritage.
My mother passed to eternal life in July,2008.  We visited her grave on this Mother's Day!

After the visit, we  went to my  brother Josephs house for a Sunday. Since we had a great Italian "festa" for Dominic's First Holy Communion  Joe prepared a roast beef.   This of course rendered another memory of mom. For our big holiday dinners Mom would also making whatever any of her grandchildren desired .  Roast beef, chicken and ham were often prepared to satisfy those desires./

At our Mother's Day table there were gathered Joe' wife Susan. The mother of Joey and Gina. Gina is the mother of Lia, Joey and his wife Jeanie who is the mother of Joseph, Anna and one who is to be announced in July.  Audra with her son Dominic.  Remembered and talked about was Gerry, Audra's brother,  whose wife Eliza bore Jesse. (They live in Arizona).
Of course lest I forget there was also Paula who brought life to Joshua and John, my two sons!

May 13 was our day to travel the air to return to Alabama.  

Day 23 & 24 May 10 & 11

Yesterday was day of travel as paula, josh and I came north to attend my great nephew ,Dodd, first communion.  Ddd is the son of my niece Audra and Chris . Ddd deals with autism. This was a most meaningful First Holy Communion for all seven of the young folk, three of whom were first baptized.
After mass presided over by a jovial Franciscan we made our way to some festivities arranged by my brother Tom, my brother in law harry through there friend Michael.  Food and wine flowed freely. Conversation was abundant.  It went on for five hours of joviality.
It brought happy rembrances of all the sacraments we have witnessed. Wheneverone of us five received a sacrament or anty of my cousins there was always a party, usuall at our house.
My mother and aunts would prepare what is a standard. Peppers and sausage, various pastas, eggplants parmigiana, chicken parmigiana. Then out came the desserts. Cookies from the Italian bakery, a special cake, coffee.
All of that was done for young Ddd.
My first communion took place at st Rocco's church on 27th street Brooklyn. I recall the rehearsals over seen by an Italian Monsignor whose name I have forgotten. As we rehearsed he made sure that we remembered that as we genuflect at the pew our right knee had to touch the ground for a count  of three. ,his method was to push down any floating knee with his cane.  It has been a long time since I have been able to do a full genuflection.  
Of course back then first communion, any communion was done kneeling at a rail which made it feel more like an assembly line then the first intimate moment with Christ. But I digress.
All the boys dressed in blue suits, white shirts with a buster brown collar, a white ribbon cravat and a white ribbon festooned on or left arm. I was glad to see Dddin his suit with a great Bowtie.
Little boys in suits look angelic .  I looked angelic.
First Holy Communion, is the first time we say yes to Jesus, on our own. It is a time of sweetness and hope.  My hope is that all first communicants, especially Ddd , we say yes many times over.

Ad multos annos

Day 22- May 9, 2013

Been down with a spring cold all day. so my memory was my first sick day the Army. Actually it may have been a febrile hallucination. It was during basic at fort dix.  woke up (rather I was awoken) by the drill sergeants voice beckoning us to arise.  I was feeling a little puny. In line for  inspection before PT when the SGT came by me i started  coughing up what seem to me was the right lower lobe of my lung.  The SGT sent me to sick call.  Waiting with about 100 other guys we were shuffled through the medics.  One took our  temperatures,  another checked  for neck rigidity ( meningitis was a big concern, those who complained  about neck pain was sent for a spinal tap) the third  listened to our chest. and the fourth looked at our throats and took a culture.  At the end of the line was the GMO (general medical officer)  or the guy who graduated medical school last week.  He diagnosed me and just about everyone else with "impending pneumonia".  The treatment was a PCN shot and a bottle of green liquid.  With the instruction to "take a swig every time you start coughing. Oh and by the way get some rest."

The shot hurt, but the green liquid was soothing.  I learned that the principle ingredient in the green liquid was 100 proof EtOH (grain alcohol).  Their was also some codeine. Getting rest in an open barrack of 50 guys was impossible.  Besides the drills  interpreted resting as merely shuffling to the next activity rather than running.

Rise up, rise up soldier; march on, march on soldier
You must go to join your comrades in arm!

Day 21-May 8, 2013

Since we started this week with nursing memories let us continue since it was about this time that i started the Army Nurse Anesthesia Program.  I had returned from Viet Nam in January 1973.  I was assigned immediately to the Fort Ord Hospital but was then notified that I had been accepted to the anesthesia program that was beginning in May.  I drove from Monterey California to El Paso Texas. I remember entering the Fort from the west gates. I was surprised to see a lot of road and building signs in German.   Fort Bliss was a NATO training site and I had driven through the Luftwaffe gate.
The Anesthesia Program was  a two part program starting with  these 7 months of didactic study.
The first day of class we entered into a low green building and met our director, LTC Ruth Saterfield
with her assistant Major James.  The LTC was tall lady and Major James was short stocky man.
We were assigned desks on which were a stack of text books.  Some of the titles were Adrianis "Text of Anesthesia Physics" Guyton's "Medical Physiology",  Goodman's "Pharmacology",  Wylie & Churchhill-Davidson's "Practice of Clinical Anesthesia",  Smith's "Anesthesia for Infants and Children" and  "Interpretive Blood Gas Analysis" to name a few.
The stack rose 4 feet above the desk and Major James informed us that "by the end of your 7 months WILL have read and you WILL know the content of this stack before I would allow any of you to get near a patient." Perhaps that is why I still recall the titles so vividly.

"ab initio ad finis"

Day 19-20 May 6-7, 2013

Sorry I missed a day. Had all of the intention to blog but my eyes called for a closure.
This is the start of  National Nurses Week.  so some reflections on the start of my career.
I went to the LongIsland University School of Nursing.  I was the only male in the class which in itself was a turn around for me since I went to an all boys high school.  Actually the choice of  a nursing major was to ensure job security.  Since at the time I was married and it provided me access to the Army Student Nurse program which paid for my undergraduate degree in exchange  for a future expenditure of my life.
The principle professor was a lady who came to  NYC by way of her work at the Charity Hospital of New Orleans. I do not remember her name but she was a tall graceful black woman who set high demands on her students.  Of course the most interesting part of any nursing education is the clinical rotations.  Ours were at Brooklyn Hospital, Brooklyn State Psychiatric, Bellevue, Bellevue Psychiatric, The New York Department of Health, NY Eye, Ear Nose and Throat Hospital, The Hospital for Special Disease, Kings County Hospital and the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Hospital.
each place has its own memory.
Brooklyn Hospital where I was assigned to teach an Hispanic woman in an open post partum ward who had just delivered her eight child about breast feeding  technique.
Brooklyn State Hospital where i first witnessed Insulin shock, electro shock , water baths for the treatment of psychiatric disease.  this is also where i met  Jack, a cationic who only communicated verbally when Jeopardy was on the  ward TV.  He scored very highly.
Bellevue where I met the son of Dr. Trendelenberg, a famed surgeon whose name is attached to the Trendelenberg position.
Bellevue Psychiatric, aka Bedlam,many  of the criminally insane.  the character Hannibal Lector was a  composite of these patients.
New york Department of Health giving out PCN shots for  various  STDS and asking patients about their sexual contacts to  track the statistics.  This was when STD was a stigma rather then a  honorific
NY Eye, Nose and Throat witnessing many a tonsillectomy.
The hospital for special diseases- where the patients had biblical diseases- leprosy, tuberculosis, polio, plague, dysenteries.
Kings County Hospital had a booming trauma center aptly named the knife and gun club.
Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital where i assisted with a  hemi-corpectomy. The amputation of the lower half of the Body.

Just some memories that remain memorable!

Day18- May 5, 2013

WELL according to the various calendars it is either Cinco de Mayo or National Hoagie Day (or as the sandwich type  is correctly called in Brooklyn and its environs  National Hero Day). which brings to mind my favorite meal time  was our typical Saturday lunch. We would get fresh "cold cuts"(not sandwich meat)  fresh Italian bread and roasted peppers  which my mother would dressed in olive oil and garlic.  My first choice was always, and continues to be  mortadella, provolone and peppers.  If this was not a mortadella week then it would be Genoa salami, provolone cheese and  roasted papers.  To this day those are my "heroes".

Now for Cinco de mayo which will bring up memories of things Mexican. The first mexican meal I  had was in San Antonio texas.  My compatriots in officer basic  took me to a mexican buffet.  Every thing looked the same except for how the tortilla was used. My first foray into Mexico was a long weekend.  We drove to Monterrey Mexico.  We stayed  at a cheap, i mean cheap,  Mexican hotel.  We "partied with some Mexican guests, one of whom turned out to be the bull fighter which we went to see the next day.

A few years later, 1973, I was  stationed  in El Paso, Texas.  At that time it was still safe to cross into Nuovo Laredo.  We did so often while stationed there.  You were able to get some great steaks and plenty of alcohol for little money. at that time the popular mexican drink was not Margueritas but rather Sangria, which we drank by the pitcher.  It was long time till my Mexico .  But that was a more tame and sterile visit to a resort in Cozumel.  One other time was a medical mission trip to provide anesthesia on the prison island of Isola de Tres Marias, 60 miles off the coast of Mazatlan.

Viva la Mexico and pass the peppers please!

Day 17- May 4, 2013

Went to  friends graduation party. Beverly is the mother of three, WWW, EEE, and www  ( remember Paula told me not to publish children's name) wife to John. She has overcome cancer and in her midlife pursued a degree in accounting.  She gave a marvelous toast attributing her success to family and friends who urged her on and supported her in her goal.  I was moved not only by her success but also by her  humility in pointing out all the folks who have influenced her to get to this joyous day.
So today's memory is about one individual who urged me on in the past. Mr. Scala, a 7th grade Social Studies teacher. ( I have mentioned him before).  In the NYC  public school system there was at the time and still are today  specialty schools  To attend one of these schools you had to take a pretty rough  entrance exam.  It was at the impetus of Mr. Scala that I signed up and took that examination. As a result I was accepted into one of the most prestigious public boys high school,  Brooklyn Technical High School.  While that meant that I had to walk 1/2 mile to the bus stop, take the bus to the subway and  take  two subways lines across two boroughs then walk 5 blocks from the subway to the school.  In the end it was worth it all.  I believe I got one of the finest high school education at that time. Now this was not a intimate school. the building itself was ten stories high.  The auditorium was the second largest in the city, topped only by Radio City Music Hall.  Our  graduation class was 1000 in number.  We graduated out of our school auditorium in shifts .  It was a proud day for me  and my family but it would not had come about if  Mr. Scala, a social studies teacher at  JHS 218 had not urged me on.  Thank you Mr. Frank Scala, wherever you may be!


To quote John Dunne  (who Mr. Scala had us read in 7th grade)  "No man is an island entire of itself "

Day 16- May 3, 2013

Today I took a mock Latin Exam for my Canon Law Degree.  I also received notification that I was awarded a small scholarship for my final year from the Canon Law Society of America.  This is actually the first scholarship I have ever received in my entire academic history. This history  brings up memories of my academic past.  This past consists of a B.S. in Chemistry and Nursing from Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus (1971).  A Masters in Anesthesia through the Army Nurse Anesthesia program (1975). A 1979 Master of Science  in Sociology of Human Relations from Pacific Lutheran University.  After a hiatus of 12 years The Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary granted me another Masters in Biblical Theology (1991).  I took another break until recently.  In 2010 St. Mary's University in Wisconsin gave me a Post Graduate Certificate in Canon Law which opened up the door to my most recent goal.  Last year my present study led to a Masters in Law, Religion and Society (2012) from the Katholic Universitat- Leuven. With the intercession of the saints I will hopefully complete my study for the  Iuris Canonici Licentiate.
All of this of course does not count the schooling and training I received on the Army's dime  which I paid back in blood, sweat and tears.
So I can truly say that "I am a Master of all but a jack of no trades"

Day 15 - May 2, 2013

Tonight Paula & I went to a Bourbon and Big Red Wine Dinner.  The friends and family we shared it with made for  great conversation. I was impressed with the bourbon and the wine. This got me to thinking  about the first time I ever  had a fine wine.  In a previous blog I mentioned that my grandfather and the other men on the block (31st Street in Brooklyn between 3r and 4th Ave) engage in an annual wine making.  that wine appeared at every dinner and ever sunday a new gallon was opened.  The wine was rough but just knowing it was home made it significant.
However, the first  fine wine i consumed was paradoxically drunk in the midst of a war.
It  was in Viet Nam, 1971.  We had a relatively difficult week.  We were given a weekend pass to Saigon!  Myself and some comrades were wandering around the Cholon district when we came across a French restaurant( remember Viet Nam was a French colony).  The proprietor brought out a bottle of a 1951 Chateau Rothschild.  The bottle was dusty, the label was  muddled, but the taste was exquisite.

The paradox was that delight was found in the midst of the anguish of war!

Day 14- May 1, 2013

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph the worker! Before I share a memory I thank St. Joseph for his intercession, for today Joshua was hired on a new job.
Now since this is the Catholic Day for the Worker, actually established in contradiction to the the Communist May Day , my memory will be about early work experiences.

One was as a dishwasher at the Queens Terrace.  This was an establishment that provided venues for weddings, bar mitzvahs, engagement showers, confirmations etc. etc.  There were ten rooms each held up to 300 people.  On a fully booked day we served 3.  Washing 3000 fruit cocktail cups, 3000 dinner plates, coffee cups and saucers,  utensils etc, etc makes for a very hard day. In those days we did not have a dishwasher and everything was done by hand.   The day ended  with scrubbing uncountable pans in which they roasted the prime ribs which was the principle menu item.

While I never delivered newspapers I do have an interesting work resume for my youth. I tested water for a city sewage treatment plant over a  high school summer.  I was a courier for a package delivery service in Manhattan during my high school, I was an ambulance attendant for the city EMS while a college student, as well as morgue attendant, and a surgical assistant.

Then I went into the Army and had a 22 year, 10 month, 14 day, 8 hour  career which ended in 1989!

San Giuseppe prega per noi!