I miss my flock of seagulls haicut...
**
Snow falls like chunks of cotton candy as I sit looking out my window
into the forest. I'm living in a small hotel perched on top of a
mountain and below the town of Landstuhl rests below. A short ways
down the road there is a clearing in the dense tree line and you can
see the village below in a glowing panoramic, the soft lights of homes
and churches scattered like broken glass. Across the way, carved into
the side of a neighboring mountain is a thousand year old castle which
stands with a solemn dignity, a testament to other ways of life, while
human affairs play themselves out beneath.
**
The hospital, built in the early 1950's by the Germans for America, is
a bee-hive of activity. Staffed by about 2,000 American soldiers,
it's unique in many ways. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all work
side by side, caring for the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan. Some
soldiers, and by soldiers I mostly mean 18 and 19 year old kids,
arrive here only six hours after being injured. The average length of
stay is around three days. The mission, when it comes to healthcare
anyways, means stabilization and shipment to Walter Reed (Washington
DC) or BAMC (San Antonio).
Senators, Presidents, movie stars, and whoever else thinks they're
important are frequent visitors, which excites the foriegn press. The
place can feel like Studio 54 with a stethiscope at times, though it's
not generally frowned upon to do coke on the bathroom floor. We have
IV's for that sort of thing.
**
My dad wrote me recently...
Let me know how the work part of this new adventure goes. I'm very
curious what life in a military hospital is like. Having seen
*M*A*S*H* and ER, I consider myself an expert on all things military
and medical, so really I just want to confirm what I already believe,
but then don't we all.
...to which I replied:
Having seen ER and *M*A*S*H* you are certified as a PA in most states.
If you
can watch 20 episodes of Scrubs or General Hostpial (Wednesday nights
at 8:30 or weekdays at noon, respectively) thenyou will recieve an
MD. I suggest you watch it, not only for thepractical benefits of a
job that lands you in the highest tax bracket,
but also because the drama is at an all time high this season, and one
character is rumored to be coming back from the dead. You also must
purchase a stethiscope (ebay) and absolutely, positively refuse to
write legibly.
**
I loved visiting the castle so much last night that I think I'm gonna
do this tour Saturday that takes you to see ten in one day. There are
trips every single day all over Europe, and the fares are dirt cheap.
Thank you Uncle Sam.
**
I feel far from home, but you all are in my heart.
10 comments:
You're forgetting Grey's Anatomy. Very educational, and very, very true. In the last episode a guy was accidently shot with a bazooka missle and it landed in his stomach and it didn't explode. So then the whole hospital panics when the realize what is inside of him, and that it could explode. Scary!
If you ever get lonely, try doing some glamor shots with women's clothing. It works. Trust me. :)
Your dad sounds fun! Keep up the good blogging. And Sean, did you mean glamour shots in women's clothing? Don't do it Michael!! There are soo many other ways to treat the lonelies!
I was totally gonna mention Gray's Ananatomy, but Sean beat me to it! It really is the best.
I can't believe you are actually in Germany. It isn't really sinking in that you are going to be there for a year. I feel like you are just on vacation or something. (I almost said vacay, but I thought people might hate me if I used that term.) Anyway, I need pictures Michael, PICTURES!
Shining on,
N. Pickle
*Grey's (oops)
You are missed!
Holla!!!!
I miss you michael! Please don't like Germany too much and never come home! See you in a year my love.
Scrubs comes on TUESDAY at 8:00
You should know this, I am slightly disapointed.
I think I saw that episode too! Was that the one where the girl couldn't take her hand out of the guy's stomach because they feared the bomb would trigger?! Crazy times. That's so cool that your dad has an MD. I knew I was dealing with some impressively intelligent genes. My mom knows alot of campfire songs and my dad used to make really good elephant noises. So you're dealing with some good stuff too! Don't be intimidated.
While I'll have to check with the state regulations, I do think elephant noises will earn you a license to practice law. Of course they have to be really good elephant noises AND you must be able to do them while eating peanuts...
I've NEVER seen Greys Anatomy, but Kari Kennedy swears by it so it's good enough for me.
Nik, the pics are on the way... Maybe tomorrow--things are so freakin busy I can't even describe it.
Love you ALL!
M Town
Can I come live there too? Would that be cool with rebecca?? Let me know sooooon.
Post a Comment