HOLIDAY CHEER
Thomas James III, MD
A
s someone who has spent half his life in Louisville, and the other
half in a number of cities in the eastern regions of the country,
I have holiday memories that bring distinct differences. Those
differences reflect the cultures of the community and my place in time. My
childhood in Louisville and the childhood of my children here in River
City outwardly fit the Norman Rockwell images of Christmas, complete
from Christmas stocking over the fireplace to the holiday’s end with plum
pudding and hard sauce. Of course, the reality never met the expectations
so there were tears and temper tantrums and all sorts of emotions that are never anticipated
in our vision of the holiday season. Still for year after year, my parents held up the holiday
ideals and I, in turn, passed them on my children.
But then the holidays in Philadelphia as a resident were altogether different. My
Christmas wreath was stolen off the front door of the row home where I lived during
my resident years. One Christmas morning when I was the resident in the ER at
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a mother brought in her child who had a minor viral illness for a week. I made the mistake of asking her why, on Christmas
morning, did she bring her child in with an illness that had been present for
some time. She looked sternly at me and said, “You are open, I wanted to bring
my son in, and it’s none of your business when I do that.” Happy Holidays,
indeed, I thought.
Then, living in Virginia Beach with my wife’s transplanted Sicilian
family, the seasonal exaggeration of their habitual embrace of food and
family was a wonder to behold. This was not a time to turn down the
offerings of lasagna, stuffed artichokes, fish, vegetables, wine and
Italian desserts. Those holidays were an orgy of food, family and
laughter for a thirty-six hour period from Christmas Eve at noon
through Christmas night. I miss them still.
But, no matter where we celebrated, always there were tears,
the warmth of love, and a more intense togetherness.
Note: Dr. James is the Corporate Medical Director of Clinical Policy at The AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies in Philadelphia. He has a part-time practice within
Main Line Healthcare in Philadelphia.
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE