Learning from the past and about finding out my roots
History gives us a sense of proportion: it’s an antidote to a lot of unfortunately human trends like self-importance and self-pity. David McCullough Historian and Pulitzer prize winner. But first, one has to know his history. Here is a typical story I hear so often. We meet and after the initial conversation, and the person sensing […]
What happens in the OR after the patient goes to sleep
The meetings with readers are a constant source of enlightenment and inspiration. Each book is a multilayered work. Besides the obvious narrative, there are many better and not-so-well hidden thoughts and ideas. Just like in real life. The most uplifting comment I’ve heard from my reader was that each time she read the story, she […]
Roundup, The Picture; Polish War Series part 1
In a deep corner of the old drawer, he found a browned shoebox with two rubber bands holding the top down. On its side, the box had a yellowed sticker with ‘BLACK AND WHITE’ written with a broad, dark pencil. The rubber bands seemed aged, partially cracked, but still holding this old box together. He […]
Why Cremona Became the Capital of the Singing Wooden Box
The centers of excellence. Athens, Florence, Hangzhou in China, Vienna, Silicon Valley in California. The spikes on progress in our civilization. And there is a smaller place, located on the left bank of river Po in Lombardy, in northern Italy. Cremona. The home of violin making. The craze started in the sixteenth century in the […]
Violin and the road to perfection
If you’ve ever listened to the second part of Paganini’s violin concerto #4… you know that a violin can be an angelic instrument. But after listening to Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns… you also know it can sound like a Devils fiddle. And after listening to Charlie Daniels band… now you are certain. The scale […]
‘Tristan und Isolde’, a Five-hours Long Trial by Fire
Tristan and Isolde. “I know of some, and have heard of many, who could not sleep after it, but cried the night away.” Mark Twain, after watching the performance. He couldn’t be accused of being an overly sentimental person. French composer Emmanuel Chabrier heard it in Munich in 1880 and broke down during the prelude, sobbing […]
Nasza Droga do Sukcesu albo Siatkówka w Akademii Medycznej w Warszawie
W roku 1961 zacząłem studia medyczne w Warszawie. Siatkówką zainteresowałem się jeszcze w szkole średniej i dla zachowania równowagi psychofizycznej chciałem również grać na mojej uczelni. Szczęśliwie znalazłem tam zespół podobnych zapaleńców. Skromne początki Treningi odbywały się na odległym stadionie i w dodatku późnym wieczorem. Ponieważ zajęcia na uczelni nie rozpoczynały się przed ósmą, […]
Volleyball in Warsaw Medical School in the 60s
It was 1961, and I’ve just started my medical school in Warsaw. Volleyball interested me since high school and since I wanted to have a physical balance to my book education, I’ve found a volleyball team at my university. Modest beginnings We had practices in a far away arena late at night. But since we […]
How to Deal with Anger like Buddha
One day, the Buddha and a large following of monks and nuns were passing through a village. The Buddha chose a large shade tree to sit beneath, so the group could rest for a while out of the heat. He often chose times like these to teach, and so he began to speak. Soon, villagers […]
