Learning how to Like an Opera Takes Time
An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. Maria Callas The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but also the most difficult to play. Richard Strauss While in my music school in Poland, our teachers provided us with free tickets to the symphony […]
To Be Free, You Have to Be Able to Defend Yourself.
In two weeks it will be 70 years. Two, may be three generations ago. How many people still remember it? How many of them, who saw it with their own eyes, are still alive? And there were only a few not afflicted by these events. The Biblical scene of David fighting Goliath always fascinated […]
Being Headstrong Helps to Succeed as a Cardiac Surgeon
Lawyer: Dr Cooley, do you consider yourself the best surgeon in the world? Dr Cooley: Yes, I do. Lawyer: Don’t you think it is rather immodest? Dr Cooley: Perhaps, but remember, you put me under oath. Dr Denton Cooley was considered by many to be probably the best surgeon in his time. And he is […]
What’s new in Poland
Sovereignty is not given, it is taken. Kamal Ataturk Once again, Poland was stood up by her allies. Before WWll we had military agreements with the governments of Great Britain and France regarding common defense in case of military aggression on either country. We also had a nonaggression agreement with Russia. On September 1st, 1939, Poland […]
Is There anything Worse Than an Untimely Cellphone Ring?
We have a little gem in our neighborhood. It is a bookstore. Situated in a cottage-like house, on the old, traditional farm. Surrounded by the old trees, next to the farm with belted cows. Books are displayed on elegant shelves or on the tables. Not in stalls like in B&N or Borders. You can discuss […]
Polish Had the First European Modern Constitution in 1791
Those who don’t know the history are destined to repeat it. Edmund Burke History doesn’t repeat itself, but does rhyme. Mark Twain Nescire autem quid antequam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum. To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. Cicero The year was 1789 […]
Non-monetary Value of a Cup of Coffee
It was 6:45 in the morning, and I was standing in line to pay for my cup of coffee in Duke’s cafeteria. The Weekly vascular conference was just about to begin. In front of me there was a young man, may be 30 years old. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a […]
Motherhood Is The Most Important Job on Earth
If evolution really works, how come mothers have only two hands? Milton Berle In motherhood, pay is lousy, if you are talking of monetary things. But payoff is priceless in so many other things. Roxane Henke God could not be everywhere, so He created mothers Jewish proverb I was recently thinking of people from my […]
Look Back on My Surgical Career
Does it ever happen to you, that after a conversation or event is over, an untimely thought comes to mind? Something you should say or do, and you didn’t think of it at a proper time? Then suddenly you do, and now obviously it’s too late. Or somebody said a hurtful thing, and you didn’t […]
