To see the "Glass Flowers" exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History is to step back in time in more ways than one. Crafted by Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka in Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these beautiful and scientifically accurate glass models are unlike anything you would see produced today. In addition to the 847 flowers created, the display also features some 3,000 pieces of specific plant parts--stems, seed pods, leaves, pistils, pollen--all startlingly lifelike. You can't believe they're made of glass.
The collection is one of those artistic feats rooted in a specific time and place. Beyond the marvel of the flowers themselves is the wonderment at this father and son duo who blended art and science in a whole new way.
If you find yourself in Boston, make the trip to Cambridge to see the flowers. You won't be sorry.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
This Holiday I Wish to Thank. . .
Jane, who cleans our house
Pam, who grooms our dogs
Mark and Katie and Brad, who cut our hair
Pablo, who fixes our cars
Joyce and Clint, who fix our computers
Robyn, who sells us eggs
Ms. G, who teaches our kid
Gene (next door), who's always there
Kay and Nancy, who dispense our drugs
and Ray, who guards the pool.
With them in our lives, what's ordinary becomes extraordinary. For this I'm grateful.
Pam, who grooms our dogs
Mark and Katie and Brad, who cut our hair
Pablo, who fixes our cars
Joyce and Clint, who fix our computers
Robyn, who sells us eggs
Ms. G, who teaches our kid
Gene (next door), who's always there
Kay and Nancy, who dispense our drugs
and Ray, who guards the pool.
With them in our lives, what's ordinary becomes extraordinary. For this I'm grateful.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Last Rose of the Season. . .
. . . looks out of place in the yard. Her hot pink color clashes with the brilliant, but weighty shades of fall: golden yellows, flaming oranges, and russet reds. Coy and frivolous, she resists the coming of winter. I cheer her on, this rose, for she knows no fear. She lives as I would like to live.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Lessons from Penn State
1. Beware idolatrous cultures. Whenever someone or something--or both--is revered as godlike and beyond reproach, we ought to peer under more than one rock. Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lion machine reigned supreme for too long in too many people's eyes.
2. Beware paternalistic cultures. Societies with few or no women in power run the risk of grave gender and sexual imbalances. Does the presence of women at the top of an organization help protect children and others at risk? I would say yes.
3. Beware closed cultures. George Vecsey, in his New York Times essay "The Dangerous Cocoon of King Football," reminds us that the leading figures in the scandal so far have been at Penn State for years, practically born and bred there. With few outsiders to challenge the status quo, the culture perpetuated itself.
Penn State football, the Catholic Church, and the Boy Scouts of America all share these traits to the detriment of the very constituencies they serve. Of the three scandals, though, this is the one that none of us can dodge. For just about everybody born in this country reveres either universities or football or both.
If we continue to elevate these two institutions, we must hold their personnel to the same standards that we hold other, less respected institutions. Surely Jerry Sandusky would have been long gone as a public school teacher or a United States senator, since we deride both teachers and politicians.
It's much harder to face the truth about those we love.
2. Beware paternalistic cultures. Societies with few or no women in power run the risk of grave gender and sexual imbalances. Does the presence of women at the top of an organization help protect children and others at risk? I would say yes.
3. Beware closed cultures. George Vecsey, in his New York Times essay "The Dangerous Cocoon of King Football," reminds us that the leading figures in the scandal so far have been at Penn State for years, practically born and bred there. With few outsiders to challenge the status quo, the culture perpetuated itself.
Penn State football, the Catholic Church, and the Boy Scouts of America all share these traits to the detriment of the very constituencies they serve. Of the three scandals, though, this is the one that none of us can dodge. For just about everybody born in this country reveres either universities or football or both.
If we continue to elevate these two institutions, we must hold their personnel to the same standards that we hold other, less respected institutions. Surely Jerry Sandusky would have been long gone as a public school teacher or a United States senator, since we deride both teachers and politicians.
It's much harder to face the truth about those we love.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Veterinary Rx
Our dogs get more attentive and more respectful medical care than the rest of us do. Here's why:
1. When we take our dogs to the clinic for sick visits, the vets routinely call us a few days later to see how they're doing.
2. All of the staff members at the clinic know our dogs and greet them cheerfully.
3. The vets return our phone calls on the same day.
4. We can find out exactly how much a procedure will cost.
5. Treats are available at every visit.
6. As owners we're never blamed for our dogs' health--the way some dentists run you down for not flossing well enough.
7. The clinic is simply and efficiently furnished. We're not paying for a fancy building or the latest decor.
8. Medicines are dispensed on site.
9. We rarely wait for more than 5 minutes, either in the waiting room or in the examining room.
10. If our vets recommend a special procedure, we know they do so because they believe it's medically necessary, not because they'll make an extra buck.
11. When we check in at the clinic, we're not greeted with the words, "Is your insurance still Blue Cross/Blue Shield?"
12. The dogs are treated with the respect they deserve.
Human doctors and medical administrators could learn a lot from their veterinary counterparts who, by the way, make a lot less money. Speaking of which, you don't get the feeling that money is driving veterinary medicine the way it powers human medicine. Rather, you get the feeling that the patient's health matters the most.
1. When we take our dogs to the clinic for sick visits, the vets routinely call us a few days later to see how they're doing.
2. All of the staff members at the clinic know our dogs and greet them cheerfully.
3. The vets return our phone calls on the same day.
4. We can find out exactly how much a procedure will cost.
5. Treats are available at every visit.
6. As owners we're never blamed for our dogs' health--the way some dentists run you down for not flossing well enough.
7. The clinic is simply and efficiently furnished. We're not paying for a fancy building or the latest decor.
8. Medicines are dispensed on site.
9. We rarely wait for more than 5 minutes, either in the waiting room or in the examining room.
10. If our vets recommend a special procedure, we know they do so because they believe it's medically necessary, not because they'll make an extra buck.
11. When we check in at the clinic, we're not greeted with the words, "Is your insurance still Blue Cross/Blue Shield?"
12. The dogs are treated with the respect they deserve.
Human doctors and medical administrators could learn a lot from their veterinary counterparts who, by the way, make a lot less money. Speaking of which, you don't get the feeling that money is driving veterinary medicine the way it powers human medicine. Rather, you get the feeling that the patient's health matters the most.
Monday, November 7, 2011
A Day at the Gardens
Every year our family visits the outdoor sculpture exhibit at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. We stroll the grounds,
study the lily ponds,
and lose ourselves in the bamboo.
We marvel at human-made spiders,
nests,
and miscellaneous botanic forms.
Finally, we enjoy a ten-year-old's response. . .
to a nude.
study the lily ponds,
and lose ourselves in the bamboo.
We marvel at human-made spiders,
nests,
and miscellaneous botanic forms.
Finally, we enjoy a ten-year-old's response. . .
to a nude.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Medical Wasteland
I've been wandering in the wilderness--the medical records wilderness, that is--for 40 days as I've waited for my records to travel from Duke Eye Center in Durham to Academy Eye Associates in Chapel Hill, 10 miles down the road. I should have hired the Pony Express.
You'd think that living in "The City of Medicine," with all its high-tech institutions and technologies, would result in equally high-tech efficiency. Not so. It took 3 faxes and 10 phone calls to complete my relatively simple request.
In the midst of this frustration, I was reminded of T. R. Reid's excellent book on health care, The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care. In it, Reid takes his sore shoulder around the world, consulting with doctors in France, England, Canada, and other countries in search of ways not only to treat his shoulder, but more importantly, for ways to improve American health care. For as he notes in his introduction, in addition to our inability to provide services for all of our citizens, "the United States also performs below other wealthy countries in matters of cost, quality, and choice."
When it comes to medical records, France has us beat by a long shot. Everyone over the age of 15 carries a carte vitale, or the "card of life," a green, plastic credit card that contains complete health information since 1998. Patients can take this card to any doctor or hospital in France and their medical history is instantly available. The card also contains insurance and billing records, so that payments and reimbursements are handled automatically. The layers of administrative processing that we encounter daily are simply not needed in France.
We've all been fasting in the medical desert of American health care for too long. For even if we're lucky enough to enjoy the finest medical services, we're still paying for bloat and inefficiency.
It's past time to emerge from this wasteland.
You'd think that living in "The City of Medicine," with all its high-tech institutions and technologies, would result in equally high-tech efficiency. Not so. It took 3 faxes and 10 phone calls to complete my relatively simple request.
In the midst of this frustration, I was reminded of T. R. Reid's excellent book on health care, The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care. In it, Reid takes his sore shoulder around the world, consulting with doctors in France, England, Canada, and other countries in search of ways not only to treat his shoulder, but more importantly, for ways to improve American health care. For as he notes in his introduction, in addition to our inability to provide services for all of our citizens, "the United States also performs below other wealthy countries in matters of cost, quality, and choice."
When it comes to medical records, France has us beat by a long shot. Everyone over the age of 15 carries a carte vitale, or the "card of life," a green, plastic credit card that contains complete health information since 1998. Patients can take this card to any doctor or hospital in France and their medical history is instantly available. The card also contains insurance and billing records, so that payments and reimbursements are handled automatically. The layers of administrative processing that we encounter daily are simply not needed in France.
We've all been fasting in the medical desert of American health care for too long. For even if we're lucky enough to enjoy the finest medical services, we're still paying for bloat and inefficiency.
It's past time to emerge from this wasteland.
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