With the windows down it was like God was whispering the idea in my ear
Engine off, parked on the side of the street, still in my scrubs and white coat I sat in my car with the driver side window down. The sun was rapidly dying below the horizon behind my head-yet I wouldn’t have to be locked inside tonight. I had time to think as I always did, but now I had the capacity to do something I hadn’t before-anything. You only really know how free you are to do something until you are powerless to do anything. I equate my time there to being in a vacuum-away from everything you know and everything that worries you. I guess it’s like being in space or solitary confinement. When you don’t have this aching nag of reality, you have a lot of time to think about what really matters.
When I came back, I felt like an astronaut coming out the space capsule and immediately being hosed down in case he picked up a bad case of Martian herpes from the green skinned women you would see an old issue of “Amazing Stories”. I had no stronger desire than to take a really long, hot, non-bucket shower. I looked at my arms covered in a raised, spotted rash and wonder if I got that alien pox from Africa as the steaming hot water ran over me. I thought back to the last leg of my trip as I came back from Amsterdam-after what happened when I wrote “Falling from the Sky”
The flight to America from Amsterdam was uneventful and I was awake the entire flight over the pond watching “Harry potter and the half blood prince”, “Star Trek”, and “Terminator: Salvation” before touching down in Detroit for a massive layover. Going through customs I thought about the 2 foot machete in my bag as I went though customs.
“Do you have any plants, vegetables, fruits, food from where you are coming from”
I shook my head no, and said I brought some beer and before I could even tell them about my 2 foot knife they said go ahead and I rapidly progressed through customs. I sat in the Detroit airport for 4 hours awaiting my next plane-putting the finishing touches on the “Pastasafarian entry” while CNN looped it’s news stories in the background-one of which being a big health festival in Kakamega, Kenya (about 3 hours to the north) where folks were being tested for HIV, shown how to purify water, and use mosquito nets.
Seeing Bethany at my gate at Memphis was the best thing ever though-she had wanted to surprise me (she bought the ticket right when I left) but she told me about it a little earlier. She could only overnight before she had to go back but it was amazing having her back in my arms, I missed her so much.
Before I knew it, I was back on wards and had my ward team of my own. Even at the MED, which I remember thinking was “dumpy” as I started as an intern last year was looking glamorous by comparison-daily labs could be ordered on patients. it’s so easy to go back to fixing the numbers, but at the same time in the back of your head you think back to the people in Africa who do fine without the aggressive micromanagement of western medicine.
Those first few jet lagged days hit me hard-I didn’t know which side was up. I couldn’t believe how many people in my program read my blog and I am still not entirely sure how it got around to everyone. Desi, the resident who is going to be there this month found the blog helpful though.
So I find myself back in the car, engine off, windows down, sun rapidly dropping below the horizon behind my head when I grab my phone. I texted old friends and called those who I hadn’t been in touch as quickly as I could. Life is too short to lose those who are close to you-that’s what you learn in the vacuum.
Cause it's easier than counting hanging chads
Chama chake cha kisiasa kilifungwa wiki jana
His political party was banned last week
Cause the tough issues like universal health care take the backseat to being able to make Toll-house cookies
Kila mplga kura alihongwa kwa kilo ya sukari
Each voter was bribed with a kilo of sugar
Because the new constitution will tell us when we need to write new constitutions!
Tulitake katiba mpya kwa sasa
We needed a new constitution by new
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