This evening, we had the pleasure of sharing a meal of mudbugs with our friends and fellow physician retirees, the Delgados and Dooleys. Abe Delgado, I, and Linda Dooley represent consecutive years in medical residency. Abe was a year ahead of me, and I was a year ahead of Linda – it’s ancient history now. The Delgados, Abe and Deborah, arrived first just as I was about to pull the bugs out of the boil.
My most vivid memory of Abe is that he came into the hospital to finish my 24hr shift one night when I came down with Influenza. I was the supervisory resident on call, but I was totally ineffective with a fever of 104F. Susan called the Chief Resident, Abe, who came in to spell me so that I could spend my febrile delirium in bed. We all forget stuff – mostly the things that don’t matter. I remember that night and morning very clearly. Thanks, Abe.
Below are Abe and his lovely wife Deborah arriving for the Bug Fest this evening.
The Dooley’s arrived a bit later. Linda went into the kitchen to greet Susan. I caught only her husband Fred with whom I have shared interests in music, art, and a few other things over the years. Fred is the tall fellow in the picture below.
We sat down to a meal of boiled crawdads, corn, potatoes, sausages and mushrooms. Fred brought some yummy bread that he made for the occasion, and Deborah brought a Key Lime Pie. Our bug fests are always a communal effort. Below, people are satisfying their appetites.
We’ve been doing this ritual for several years – maybe four or five. We talk about our children and grandchildren, our travels, adventures, and yes – our medical travails. This year, Linda spent several weeks in Micronesia working with a CDC group treating the population there for latent Tuberculosis and for Leprosy (active and latent infections). Linda spent most of her medical career as the TB authority for Travis County, Texas. The rest of us are in awe, of course. How could we not be?
I don’t know how many more years we can continue to get together this way. I hope that it will be at least a few. For me, these visits are one of life’s treasures.