25th High School Reunion

I hadn't attended a high school reunion in a quarter century until now. There was a 10-year event while I was either in Illinois or Germany, and the pandemic put the kibosh on anything in 2020, so when some classmates with whom I am still connected on Facebook started planning an event on a September weekend when I was miraculously free, I decided to pack my high school memory box, my yearbooks, and my graduation dress into my car and drive down from Pittsburgh. Being a pack rat turns out to come in handy for things like anniversaries and reunions. The space was lavishly decorated in red and black (school colors) and silver/gold (anniversary).

"With class, elegance, and sophistication, the Class of 2000 has no limitations!"

The planning committee put together gift bags that included, among other things, a bingo card to get us talking with each other. "Published author" was one of the squares!

Familiar faces in the slide show:

One of my classmates' dessert business catered the event in addition to what the restaurant provided.

Unfortunately, six of our classmates have died in the last 25 years.

 The only two things I regret were having to change in the restaurant bathroom and the fact that there were no name tags. I am even worse with names now than I was 25 years ago, but I recognized some faces, and many people recognized me, so in the end, I'm glad I went.

National War War I Museum & Memorial, Part II of II

 Part I of my visit to the National World War I Museum & Memorial is here.

After the history of medicine conference ended, I took a quick second trip back to the National World War I Museum and Memorial across the street. I went up the elevator to the viewing tower and saw the special exhibit on children's experiences.

It's a small elevator, built in the space allocated for the original lift in the 1920s, but with more modern mechanics. A volunteer runs the elevator, which only fits 6-8 people. 

Below: looking south from the top of the tower.

Downtown Kansas City, with Union Station in the foreground and the Crown Westin Hotel in the bottom right.

Close-up of downtown.

Looking at the lawn at the foot of the tower.

One of the more interesting features of the special exhibit hall was the mural entitled the "Pantheon de la Guerre" painted by French artists Pierre Carrier-Belleuse and Auguste Gorguet. I believe the figures represent real and idealized members of the Allies. At 40 feet tall and almost 400 feet long, it was first displayed as a cyclorama in Paris in 1918. It was shown at the Chicago Exposition in 1933 but then forgotten outside a warehouse in Baltimore for more than two decades until restauranteur William Haussner bought it. Some pieces were donated to the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, while others returned to Baltimore. Although I ate at Haussner's Restaurant once before it closed in 1999, I can't remember if the WWI mural scraps were on display.

Above right: a child's American Red Cross dress-up outfit. Below x2: German embroidery cards with  patriotic designs and messages such as a Zeppellin and "Through conflict to victory."

Below: a Black American family remembers their war hero

(along with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Woodrow Wilson.

There were a number of artefacts from the Boy and Girl Scouts,

such as this leader's trench coat with many patches on the arm.

Above: a child's set of toy soldiers parading through a farming village.

Below left: a German poster. Below right: view of the display hall with the mural on the back wall.

2023 Rememberlutions

This time last year, I created a Pittsburgh Bucket List which, upon reflection, was a complete and utter failure. The only item we completed was a tour of Bayernhof for my 1-day staycation--and we were 15 minutes late on account of getting lost. However, we will be taking My Awesome Parents to a Liberty Magic show this spring as a Christmas gift, and we have promises for rollerskating at the Neville Roller Dome and dinner at The Woods House from friends. 

Which isn't to say that we had no fun in 2023! I did keep a few mementos in my Rememberlutions jar. First up is...a ticket to a performance we didn't end up seeing: Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For. I tried to squeeze this in between travel, but the performance kept being cancelled for cast illness, and finally I took a refund. In no particular order, this is what else I found in the jar:

We watched the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the St. Louis Cardinals when one brother was pitching against his brother on the other team. That was with colleagues from my work.

I saw a really great one-woman show about Frida Kahlo in June.

We finally visited the Pittsburgh Zoo, where we enjoyed the Chinese lanterns.

In February, Dear Husband and I had a "grand pause" at Dogwood Cabin to celebrate his new job, and in March, we had a great second trip to Phoenix, AZ, for Spring Training baseball, hiking, biking, museums, etc.

A patient wrote this to me in a message: "Just wanted you to know that you were the very best doctor I ever knew and I consider you as my friend."

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I went home to Baltimore to celebrate my father, and over Labor Dar Weekend, I flew to Charlotte to visit my grandmother, aunt, and her family.

A lovely outdoor lunch at Kaya followed by an afternoon exploring the Heinz History Center for DH's 1-day vacay.

We took a tour of Laurel Caverns with MAP in August and lunch afterwards.

Sitting at my desk with a breeze blowing sweetly through the window. This is what my office looked like recently, shortly after signing my book contract (!).

We drove to DH's family picnic at the little church by the graveyard, and on our way home, we spent the night in a tiny cabin.

When DH leaned over while driving to kiss me not once but twice after I read the poem I picked out for my youngest brother's wedding. If you search "San Diego," you can find the other posts from our vacation that week.

Finishing not one but two Princess Bride cross-stitch samplers; I gifted the one I did not keep.

When I found out parents of adult children with disabilities refer other parents to me via Facebook discussion threads. Honestly, anytime a patient compliments me on my care is really meaningful. I even had one tell me he had referred some people to me--"but not too many, because I want to make sure I can still get an appointment!"

I not only got a co-edited special issue of a journal published, but I had a magical afternoon in Montreal with my co-editor in 80-degree weather.

Every time Rosie purred through a morning brushing session, and the way she flops herself against me in ecstasy.

In March, I was invited to Chicago as an expert on teaching nutrition.

Watching "Animal Kingdom" in our backyard during dinner on the patio in the warmer months.

The time one of the nurses put someone on the phone on hold so she could join the other one in giving me a hug when I was feeling down about the way clinic was going.

We visited the Phipps Botanical Garden twice this year, once for Billy Porter and once for the holiday light show.

Our musical adventures included a trip to State College in July, which I declared "a perfect summer day." That was made better by the presence of friends, which I also enjoyed multiple times the week between Christmas and New Year's.

So that's the year that was. It was not as terrible for me as it was for some people I know. I hope we all have a better 2024.

2022: The Year That Was

I am delighted but also a little bewildered that it is time to write another year in review blog post. Where did 2022 go? Here's what I pulled out of my rememberlutions jar, with photos and links to some of my favorite memories. Above: at friends' wedding in early April

January

It was a cold and snowy start to the year. Not content to hike through Frick Park, we took our old knees skiing at Seven Springs.

We also tried glass blowing at the Pittsburgh Glass Center! After forgetting our vaccination cards the previous fall for a group class, I rescheduled us for a private lesson with another couple. We made these colorful glass pumpkins:

When I THEN forgot my driver's license at home, I managed to use my medical license as a form of ID to see The Rose Elf by the Pittsburgh Opera. We had season tickets for the 2021-2022 season.

February

Due to Omicron, I rescheduled my trip to Charlotte to visit family from January to February.

I completed several anatomical cross stitches that were auctioned off for Birmingham Free Clinic.

I want to remember savoring every perfect cup of tea with the right about of milk at just the right temperature.

March

We took our first vacation by air since the pandemic started, to Phoenix. Just as the Delta wave was receding, I saw online advertisements for a Daly Chihuly art-glass exhibit at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West and at the Desert Botanical Garden and decided that we needed a spring break trip. Although the MLB labor dispute meant there was no spring training, we had such a good time that we are planning to return this coming March to see more sights (and hopefully finally some Cactus-League baseball). Above: Taliesin West Right: sculpture in the garden at the Heard Museum

When we returned to Pittsburgh, we finalized the purchase of a house just south of the city! The day we moved was also the visitation for my medical history mentor, John Erlen, who had passed away suddenly a few weeks earlier.

April

I took a plane and a train to Saratoga Falls, NY, for the American Association of the History of Medicine conference, where we sampled the "waters."

DH and I toured the new biographical exhibit at the August Wilson Center before watching Blue, a new opera about a Black family and police violence.

May

I'm remembering every patient who thanked me or said they valued my opinion or care, including the one who told me I am "the best PCP."

June

This month we squeezed in some local arts and culture: another August Wilson play, Two Trains Running, at the O'Reilly Theater, and a hilarious, undersubscribed performance of The Illustrious Invalid, about French playwright Molière.

We also visited Ohiopyle with my awesome parents. Left: Cucumber Falls

July

I celebrated turning 40 years old with a trip to the local water park.

We also hosted multiple birthday-open house-anniversary parties in order to keep the numbers down and get to enjoy everyone's company.

August

We had another amazing family vacation at a lake.

I visited a Pittsburgh landmark, the Carrie Blast Furnace.

September

For Labor Day, DH and I went hiking with friend JH to Alpha Falls.

I flew to Houston for the German Studies Association conference and visited the Czech Center & Museum.

A colleague sent me an email: "I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your talk on Friday. You have a really engaging presentation style that made it easy to listen and absorb the content. Hoping to hear more from you in the future." ~JK

I'm also remembering Zoom dates to craft with my girlfriend, JR; and a variety of game nights or ice cream socials with friends.

October

On a whim, I took a train/bus daytrip with college pal KS and her hubby to Carlisle, PA, where we saw the grave of Molly Pitcher and watched an outdoor performance of Mother Courage at Dickinson College.

DH and I saw the world premiere of a lost opera, Idaspe, by Quantum Theater.

I finally caught SARS-CoV-2 this month.

Once out of isolation, we had a truly excellent, atmospheric Halloween, complete with spooky soundtrack and a movable spider to scare the ~120 trick-or-treaters.

Above: Here I am at home in front of my built-in, wall-to-wall bookcases; and again at work, in my costume as "Iron Chef," reminiscent of many cooking and baking adventures.

November

We participated in packing 100,000 servings of dried soup mix at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Thanksgiving was celebrated with DH's family in Cincinnati.

I had a number of shorter scholarly pieces published and look forward to a co-edited special edition of the German Studies journal Seminar appearing in 2023.

December

I've worked either New Year's Eve or Christmas Eve the last two years, so hopefully in the coming year I will get to relax while it's someone else's turn. 

Almost a full week with my family in Baltimore, including surprise tickets to see a comedic re-telling of "The Hound of the Baskervilles," one of the most famous Sherlock Holmes mysteries, at the Everyman Theater.

Here we are with some of the New Jersey crew.