My husband, at age 60, still wears a long-sleeved dress shirt and tie everyday under his white starched coat. He also wears dress pants and dress shoes to complete the professional look. This was the dress code taught in school, and this professional look is what his patients expect it. I love it!
Oh. My. God. MAGNIFICENT. Some stories are so vivid you can practically smell the alcohol in the doctor's office, the starch in the white coat, the salt air, and the family dinner. This is such a story. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this minor masterpiece of domestic photojournalism.
I remember well our family doctor growing up in Massachusetts, back in the days of house calls. He was a wonderfully warm fellow who cared deeply about his patients, not the bottom line. He was also frugal, perhaps due to his Scottish ancestry, of which I share.
When he died, his family cleared out his house and found $10,000 in hundred-dollar bills stuffed between the pages of books that lined his library, an idiosyncrasy no doubt influenced by bank failings during The Great Depression.
A lovely, bittersweet post that brings back memories of days gone by. How much our pace has accelerated since those earlier times. It’s posts like this that cause us to be a little more thoughtful in our daily lives, more transcending of self, more willing to reach out a helping hand, the hallmark of past generations. It’s posts like this that help keep alive attributes imbedded in our American culture.
Oh my! What a fantastic photo-journey!! I remember when the doctors (Yes! We had two in our little RR village!) made housecalls and...when they stopped. Thank you so much for posting these. It made me wistful and nostalgic but in a very good way. Best, Heidi
I have so many questions! What happened to the little boy's hand? Did the doctor grow up on Block Island and come home after medical school? Does he live there, or commute? I guess I'll just have to make up my own story......
This hits close to home... since mid-December of last year I have been dealing with one health issue after another, all minor and most of them probably psychosomatic and exasperated by my hypochondriac tendencies :-), but still it wears on one, if one health issues after another pops up, and if medicine for one problem causes a different problem and/or other side effects... slowly, but surely I am on the mend though.
This is also the main reason why I have not been contributing to TDP for almost two months.
These ''Landärzte''(German for country/rural doctors) often have/had to be psychologist, priest and physician, etc., all wrapped into one person. Rural health: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_health
This post also reminded me of the late Dr. Richard Rockefeller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rockefeller
Thank you very much, and very Happy, and very belated New Year 2015 greetings to the entire TDP Community.
We've vacationed on Block for over 20 years. It has evolved of course, but all in all it hasn't changed that much from these pics and what a blessing it is! Now I will be pleasantly thinking about that divine place all night! Thank you!
The Island doctor was very nice to me 20 years ago after I showed up at the clinic after spending the entire day at Mansion beach with no water or sunscreen.
Having grown up with a doctor who treated 4 generations of my family(in Atlanta), I miss that close connection with a doctor who knew one as a person not just as a patient. I bet many doctors today feel the same. As great as modern medicine is, sometimes bigger is not better and more is not richer.
I actually went to the trouble of looking it up, although I didn't notice there were two. A most unusual lighthouse. And for the lighthouses I've seen, mostly in North Carolina, it is unusual in not being painted in distinctive colors.
I remember seeing this photo series when you first posted it in 2015...I'm not going to lie, I think of it often, lol. In particular, I'm fond of the picture of the doctor in the Buffalo plaid jacket with shirt and tie. So good!
I am currently a medical student at an American medical school, and these pictures exemplify the type of relationship I hope to cultivate with my future patients. I just hope it's possible in the current money-driven, departmentalized context of our healthcare system.
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What a wonderful picture story!
ReplyDeleteDoctors in white coats and bow ties certainly inspired more confidence than doctors in pajamas.
ReplyDeleteMy husband, at age 60, still wears a long-sleeved dress shirt and tie everyday under his white starched coat. He also wears dress pants and dress shoes to complete the professional look. This was the dress code taught in school, and this professional look is what his patients expect it. I love it!
DeleteOh. My. God. MAGNIFICENT. Some stories are so vivid you can practically smell the alcohol in the doctor's office, the starch in the white coat, the salt air, and the family dinner. This is such a story. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this minor masterpiece of domestic photojournalism.
ReplyDeleteAgree, M.R. Touched my heart immediately...that little boy's face, the doctor's caring ways....beautiful.
DeleteThese photos are so poignant, I am in tears.
DeleteI remember the doctor coming to our house to treat one of us children whenever we got sick. This was in the 50's in Boston.
ReplyDeleteOh my, this was great! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI remember well our family doctor growing up in Massachusetts, back in the days of house calls. He was a wonderfully warm fellow who cared deeply about his patients, not the bottom line. He was also frugal, perhaps due to his Scottish ancestry, of which I share.
ReplyDeleteWhen he died, his family cleared out his house and found $10,000 in hundred-dollar bills stuffed between the pages of books that lined his library, an idiosyncrasy no doubt influenced by bank failings during The Great Depression.
A lovely, bittersweet post that brings back memories of days gone by. How much our pace has accelerated since those earlier times. It’s posts like this that cause us to be a little more thoughtful in our daily lives, more transcending of self, more willing to reach out a helping hand, the hallmark of past generations. It’s posts like this that help keep alive attributes imbedded in our American culture.
MGC
I remember Dr. Gordon Lupin coming to our house when I was a child. A very kind, soft spoken man that drove a red MGA coupe.
ReplyDeleteOh my! What a fantastic photo-journey!! I remember when the doctors (Yes! We had two in our little RR village!) made housecalls and...when they stopped. Thank you so much for posting these. It made me wistful and nostalgic but in a very good way.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Heidi
I had almost forgotten about the days of house calls. It seems unimaginable in this era.
ReplyDeleteOn which island wee these taken?
EJF
I have so many questions! What happened to the little boy's hand? Did the doctor grow up on Block Island and come home after medical school? Does he live there, or commute? I guess I'll just have to make up my own story......
ReplyDeleteThis hits close to home... since mid-December of last year I have been dealing with one health issue after another, all minor and most of them probably psychosomatic and exasperated by my hypochondriac tendencies :-), but still it wears on one, if one health issues after another pops up, and if medicine for one problem causes a different problem and/or other side effects... slowly, but surely I am on the mend though.
ReplyDeleteThis is also the main reason why I have not been contributing to TDP for almost two months.
These ''Landärzte''(German for country/rural doctors) often have/had to be psychologist, priest and physician, etc., all wrapped into one person.
Rural health: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_health
This post also reminded me of the late Dr. Richard Rockefeller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rockefeller
Thank you very much, and very Happy, and very belated New Year 2015 greetings to the entire TDP Community.
Max
What a wonderful story told through amazing photos.
ReplyDeleteWe've vacationed on Block for over 20 years. It has evolved of course, but all in all it hasn't changed that much from these pics and what a blessing it is! Now I will be pleasantly thinking about that divine place all night! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe Island doctor was very nice to me 20 years ago after I showed up at the clinic after spending the entire day at Mansion beach with no water or sunscreen.
ReplyDeleteEvery comment here says it all -- I couldn't add a thing -- but I would certainly love living there - life, love, listening, simplicity, caring. Anne
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up with a doctor who treated 4 generations of my family(in Atlanta), I miss that close connection with a doctor who knew one as a person not just as a patient. I bet many doctors today feel the same. As great as modern medicine is, sometimes bigger is not better and more is not richer.
ReplyDeleteThere must be an interesting story about the brick building in the 9th photo. Is it a lighthouse?
ReplyDeleteYes it is. Block Island has two wonderful lighthouses.
DeleteI actually went to the trouble of looking it up, although I didn't notice there were two. A most unusual lighthouse. And for the lighthouses I've seen, mostly in North Carolina, it is unusual in not being painted in distinctive colors.
DeleteAm I in a time warp? Why are all the early comments from 2015?
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing this photo series when you first posted it in 2015...I'm not going to lie, I think of it often, lol. In particular, I'm fond of the picture of the doctor in the Buffalo plaid jacket with shirt and tie. So good!
ReplyDeleteThe Jeep. Needed for his job.....And a Jeep actually used for work. Not like many of today's Jeeps. A statement on my coolness.
ReplyDeleteI am currently a medical student at an American medical school, and these pictures exemplify the type of relationship I hope to cultivate with my future patients. I just hope it's possible in the current money-driven, departmentalized context of our healthcare system.
ReplyDelete