Beatrix Potter and How Disease Shaped Her Life

I’ve always been curious about why famous writers became writers, and why they wrote what they wrote. Clearly, our life experiences shape what we write, and we as writers are always admonished to “write what you know”. As a doctor, I am fascinated by illness and...

Beauty Kills

Beauty Kills Imagine you are Spanish royalty in the 1600s. Spain is at the height of its international prowess and is a fabulously rich country. Untold wealth has been transferred from Central and South America in the form of gold and silver. Spain is, indeed, a...

Mad Hatter

The Mad Hatter We all remember the Mad Hatter, the character in Alice in Wonderland. Alice meets the Hatter having tea with the March hare and the Dormouse. He acts erratically, asking nonsense riddles, reciting ridiculous poetry, switching places at the table, biting...

Cup or Cone?

Do you like your ice cream in a cone or a cup? If you were living in England in the 1880’s, your answer could be life-altering. Why? Ice cream was a popular summertime treat in England in the 1800s and was usually sold in a  “penny lick”, a short thick glass cup....

Dr. Google and Me

I started practicing as a pediatrician in 1982 and retired in 2021. So, Google, which became commonly used around 2000, has been with me about half of my practice lifetime. Those two halves were startlingly different. Before Google, I gave new parents and...