You Changed My Life, Peter

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:07:00 -0500

I read the letter, my damp, trembling fingers sticking to the crisp ivory paper. It was from Columbia University. "We are pleased to inform you..." I'd been accepted to the Master of Fine Arts writing program! I was moving to New York City to pursue my dreams!

Then guilt overshadowed my excitement.

You Changed My Life, Peter

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:07:00 -0500

Then guilt overshadowed my excitement.

Care Calendar

jbloustein — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:37:23 -0600

There was a room in my house I’d been avoiding.

My upstairs office, where I took off my husband-and-father hat and put on that of cofounder of a high-tech start-up.

The Good Doctor

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 06:45:00 -0500

The West Hill neighborhood of Albany, New York, is one of the poorest in the state. But there's a place where people—everyone from single moms and kids, to the elderly and ill—can find relief. It's a clinic, dedicated to providing everyone with the best treatment possible. That's where Dr. Bob comes in.

Bob Paeglow grew up in West Hill, back when it was a different neighborhood. His father was an X-ray technician, and told his son about how much he respected the doctors he worked with. But young Bob wasn't interested in medicine.

The Good Doctor

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 06:45:00 -0500

Letters from a Paw Pal

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:32:48 -0600

I had never felt so low-down, guilty and inadequate in my life.

It seemed as if my car were being dragged along in the wake of the ambulance I was following. It was taking my friend Alice to a nursing home she had begged me to keep her out of earlier that morning.

Even though I was a nurse, there was no way I could care for her in my home or hers. Now in her eighties, Alice needed around-the-clock specialized care. She was connected to a respirator by a tracheostomy tube and fed through a stomach tube.

Lessons from Ruth

jbloustein — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:30:39 -0600

I stared blankly at the stacks of papers that filled my elderly neighbor’s living room that summer day. What had I gotten myself into?

“I need you to be my eyes,” Ruth said. “I’m looking for a notebook with a picture of this teapot.” She pointed at a cabinet filled with beautiful porcelain teapots. “It’s here somewhere.”

I smiled nervously. “Do you remember where you last saw it?”

“Goodness, no,” she said. “But you’ll know it when you see it.”

Opportunity Knocks

mcherkezian — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:37:05 -0500

Door-to-door. That had been my life as a vacuum salesman for two years. I went into neighborhoods and demonstrated our product by cleaning people’s carpets. If they liked what they saw I did my best to close the deal. The company I worked for was a good one for a family man like me, with a wife and three children to provide for. I was lucky.

Love and Support All Around

mcherkezian — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:17:49 -0500

I was nine months pregnant with my third child when I got a phone call from my brother-in-law. My husband, Joe, had fallen off a two-story building and injured his head and was in the emergency room of Memorial Hospital.

I went down there as quickly as possible and two neurosurgeons ushered me into a tiny room. “Mrs. Stevens,” they said, “Your husband must have immediate brain surgery. Do we have your permission?” I answered “Yes” in a shaking voice, thinking of our new baby, due any day.

New Year's Surprise for Ruby

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:33:49 -0600

Why am I buying this? I wondered as I glanced at the brightly colored greeting card in my hand.

It showed a steamship setting sail, with streamers and confetti flying. It was blank inside so the sender could write a personal message. I had entered the shop on impulse, and although I didn't need any greeting cards, I felt compelled to buy this one.

After arriving home I tossed it into a box filled with ribbons and wrapping paper and forgot about it.