On the [B]OLDER podcast: Sam slurps his coffee, we talk about 50 years of marriage, God and Death, and more
{Update from Debbie} It’s been busy here the past few months. You heard from Sam about our trip to San Miguel de Allende in February. In March we took all our children and grandchildren to Puerta Vallarta to celebrate our 50th anniversary. In June we took our 11-year-old granddaughter Ruthie on a one-week hiking and […]
Sam Does San Miguel de Allende: No Ice, But Treacherous Sidewalks and 76 Light Switches
{Update from Sam} For years Debbie has been badgering me about looking into a place in a warmer climate where we might spend some of our dotage. This is a reasonable response to, and outgrowth of, spending the first five winters in Maine following our gap year. As the winters grew longer, the ice slicker, […]
Why Biden is too old to be my next President
Can responsible Democrats allow the nomination of an 82-year-old candidate? I say, no. One of the medical take-home lessons that a long-term physician absorbs regarding disease and death is that, like the fundamental principle of entropy, on average, the most likely thing is going to happen. People are going to age, weaken, and die. The […]
How Sam and Dave Conquered the North Woods of Maine
{Update from Sam} I recently went on a hunting trip. I cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed it. I am embarrassed to say that it was the most exciting week of my life since turning sixteen and losing my virginity – an experience that did not last a week, I can assure you […]
I feared Long COVID and then I got it
{Update from Sam} When I went into the practice of gastroenterology and internal medicine 40 years ago, I was excited about being the new kid on the block. I was well trained in the most up-to-date treatments and endoscopic techniques. I was looking forward to a busy career. New techniques were on the horizon. I […]
22 things for 2022
{Update from Debbie} Sorry about the radio silence from our end. We haven’t forgotten about you! 2021 has been a strange year. Endless in some ways. Timeless in others. Uncertain throughout. Sam and I both turned 70 this year, which seems like a milestone. (We are not renaming the blog.) I’ve been intrigued by, and a […]
The Controversial Approval of Aducanumab: Beneficial Treatment or Grift?
{Update from Sam} Last week, I could hardly contain my frustration with the FDA’s inexplicable approval of a controversial medication for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Aducanumab, the new drug in question, is a monoclonal antibody engineered to attack the amyloid plaques in the brains of AD patients, the bio-plausible hypothesis being that removal of […]
Was Dr. Birx correct about excess COVID deaths?
{Update from Sam} If you’ve been scratching your head about Dr. Birx’s math following the CNN Special about the COVID war inside Trump’s White House, you’re not alone. We already knew that the pandemic response was dysfunctional and that poor everything (messaging, coordination, testing, truth-telling, leadership, etc.) led to countless lost lives. But how many […]
It’s Time to Take to the Streets: The Green New Deal could save the planet for our grandchildren
{Update from Andy Franklin} Today’s post is written by Debbie’s cousin Andy Franklin, a longtime and loyal reader of this blog. By Andy Franklin During the Presidential primary season we heard talk about a Green New Deal that was generally associated with the “extreme left” of the Democratic party. The Green New Deal is a […]
Alex Trebek’s Legacy: What Has It Taught Us?
{Update from Sam} On November 8, 2020, Alex Trebek, the long-time host of the unwaveringly popular game show Jeopardy, died of pancreatic cancer. It was twenty months and two days after his public announcement of the diagnosis of advanced (Stage IV) cancer and his “plan to beat it.” What have we learned? Well, my initial […]