My first weekend, continued

For fear of being dull by bogging down in the mundane, I'll cover the rest of the weekend in concise bullet points. Highlights include...

• Sleeping in Saturday morning.
• My first loads of laundry in the laundromat downstairs.
• A trip to the post office.
• Talking to Jenni, a friend of mine starting anesthesia in the San Francisco area. We compared notes about living in two of the most expensive cities in the United States.
• Reading in Central Park.
• Buying blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries on sale at the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle. I couldn't leave without a few small tubs of Fage (Greek-style) yogurt and tabouli.
• Running in Fort Tryon Park close to my apartment.
• Visiting three services on Sunday (!) Will write more about this later.
• Lunch after church with new friends at Extra Virgin in the West Village. A stroll along Bleecker Street afterward where we encountered a street fair.
• Spotting a rainbow in the dark cloudy sky. Several others on the street and I paused in our urban canyon to look east as the setting sun to the west of Manhattan cast its rays over the island. There's an interesting and not unenjoyable paradox in sharing a small experience like this with complete strangers. (The picture above is one I found on the web.)

A funny thing about living here is the way the subways totally define the way people get around. There's no need to come full circle back to one's car. Instead, we took a one-way stroll after church and parted company after a brief discussion on which connections everyone needed to take in order to get where they were going!

My first weekend in the city

For my loyal Texas readers, a note of clarification. In New York City, the term "in the city," seems to refer specifically to Manhattan. Even though a huge percentage of Manhattan's population is made up of transplants whereas those in the "Outer Boroughs" tend to be born-and-bred New Yorkers, there appears to be more than a hint of arrogance about living in the heart of the city.

Orientation let out early on Friday the 30th which provided for a bike ride several miles through Riverside Park. New York City accommodates bikers well with bike lanes and tens of miles of "Greenways," dedicated bike, skating, and running paths. Families were out enjoying the warm sunny weather all along the length of my ride...playing volleyball, cooking out, and shooting the breeze. There were even several people out painting the striking George Washington Bridge spanning a mile over the Hudson River.

A mile from home, a gear fell off the apparatus that keeps the chain taut. I'd walked the bike fifty yards when an older gentleman on a bike blew a whistle at me! I looked up, and he came to a stop. Reaching for his tire pump, he asked, "Do you need some air?" I explained that no, the bike had broken, and that I was close to home. At this point, he began a friendly lecture that I should carry extra parts and tools with me, as he gently pat his saddlebags! I smiled and informed him politely that if I knew which part were going to break, I would certainly have brought one along. The irony was lost on him, so I shrugged and said, "Lessons learned." Friendly guy.

As I walked up the hill on 181st by Haven, I realized this was precisely the neighborhood that my friend Jane lived in. I called and left a voicemail. She'd recommended a pizza place I needed to try nearby. Even though there are hundreds of pizza places in Manhattan, I love the connection of eating somewhere or visiting a place that a friend recommends.

From 181st, I walked on Broadway toward home. I like the multiculturalism of Washington Heights, where within a few blocks I saw whites, blacks, Asians, and Dominicans all sitting and walking outside, enjoying the beautiful afternoon. Mostly Dominicans. The four men sitting around the square of a domino game on a card table in the middle of the sidewalk reminded me of my time in the Dominican Republic. As I walked my bike toward home, children played in the side streets, and women sat with their chairs lined up in the shade. What community!

After a shower, I changed to a collared shirt and slacks and headed for the 1 train to Lincoln Center. My friend Hansen had scored some cheap tickets to the New York Philharmonic, but unfortunately Hansen was in a minor car accident and couldn't join me at the symphony...er, philharmonic. The orchestra performed the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto as well as the 1812 Overture, ballet music by Borodin, and Prokofiev's Cinderella Suite. It was my first of what I hope will be many concerts by this world-class orchestra, but I have to say I was disappointed by the acoustics of the hall itself.

I sat next to an eccentric elderly couple. The husband couldn't seem to hear a thing. I'd seated myself beside the wife, at which point she leaned over and said, "I'm glad you're sitting beside me." Before I could feel too appreciated by her gracious words, however, she continued, "...and not in front of me. You sure are tall!" This was a woman who applauded for the orchestra by ever-so-gently tapping her fingers against the opposite palm. Ah, well, I suppose that by her age, she's earned a right to be rather blunt!

A moment I particularly enjoyed was venturing out during intermission. The upper level overlooks Lincoln Plaza, and the light rain during the first half of the concert meant that the pavement glistened in the warm lights reflected from the Metropolitan Opera. Down below, I could see the opera patrons strolling the plaza. Punks.

I finished the evening by catching a train down to the West Village and met up with some of my anesthesia colleagues at a little bar called Gaslight. One drink and 45 minutes later I was on the train headed toward home. Sadly, though, the express train stops running after 11:00 PM, so waiting for the train and riding 10 miles home took the better part of an hour!

I'll cover the rest of the weekend in future posts!

Hello New York City

Several days on the road have finally brought me to this exciting city! I've noticed, however, that some of the magic of skyscrapers, crowds at street corners, mazes of dingy subways, and the bright lights of Broadway has lost a bit of its luster as I've gotten used to these things. A moment's reflection makes me realize that even the most amazing things are bound to become ordinary...I'm just beginning the process of becoming a New Yorker.

And in this process, I can begin to appreciate a whole new level of subtleties. The joy of living close to an express train that quickly takes me to church, Lincoln Center, work, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Central Park, Penn Station, or Battery Park. Buying fruit on the street. Discovering a hidden green space tucked away in the far northern reaches of Manhattan. Ducking into a subway station for cover during a sudden summer afternoon shower. Reading The Economist on the subway (thank you John F.).

The trip here was also one to remember. After a tough day of driving, Mom and I crashed at Aunt Chris' house in Lexington, Kentucky. The following day brought us to picture-perfect Cleveland to see my newlywed friends David and Louisa. From this time on, the weather was dreary until after I'd moved to New York City. We got to spend a couple days with Uncle Paul and Aunt Betty in Philaelphia in their small but cozy and amazingly hospitable home. Dad flew in from Germany during this time.

I'm toying with giving up a degree of anonymity on this blog. Whereas I'd kept my city hidden in the past, I've already made it clear I'm now living in New York. It would be hard to write about life here without it being obvious, anyway. More specifically, I'm living in the predominately Dominican neighborhood of Washington Heights. One of the jewels of this part of town is Fort Tryon Park with its Cloisters museum. Rent is not bad for a spacious apartment, and the subways of course make it easy to commute to work.

So that's where I am. I look forward to whatever adventures may lie ahead...

Saying goodbye to Texas

My blog has been sadly neglected for the last several weeks, for which I apologize. I regret on a personal level too, for fear that unrecorded memories will gradually fade away. My last few weeks in Texas were a wonderful blur of packing, studying for and taking the boards, and most importantly, seeing dear friends and family for the last time. Scheduled to leave Texas Wednesday, June 21, I found the time leading up to this date replete with meaningful time with many of those closest to me, thanks in no small part to some advanced planning on my end.

I don't feel that I'm exaggerating when I say that these recent memories are some of the best from my years in this city in Texas.

• My last symphony concert in this city with Joe and Trevor. We had a quick dinner at Pei Wei before walking to downtown for a phenomenal performance of Pictures at an Exhibition.
• A trip to my old college stomping-grounds in Waco. Time with Steve & Laura, and their three winsome children Oak, Eleanor, and John. Visiting my old church, which though in a new building, feels very much like home.
• Coffee with old friend Jane and new friend James, who happen to be engaged (to each other).
• The parents of my good friend from college, Emily, treating me to dinner at a neighborhood Thai restaurant. Waterfall beef!
• Mom and Shelley, Roman and Isabella helping me pack! What a boost in morale!
• A week of night shifts in the ER.
• Lunch with Scott and Michael at Cafe Brazil after my last Sunday at PCPC. Studying all afternoon with Scott--law & medicine at the kitchen table!
• Dinner with Taylor and Jenny, two of my favorite wine-drinking companions!
• Dinner with Adam and Ashley at Cafe Brazil the night before our respective USMLE exams. Two of my most committed prospective vistors!
• The board exams, a two-day affair with graduation in between, for which my parents came in town. Getting to see Adam at nearly every break made the day go a lot faster.
• Spending time with my old roommates in Waco, David & Clint, and Clint's wife Kristin. Too many memories to recount.
• Sharing a couple meals with Reese & Jennifer, two incredibly encouraging people. And Madeline!
• Coffee with two dear professors. Saying goodbye to one for perhaps the last time. I can still vividly see her smiling at me through the car window as they drove away.
• Indroducing Jessica to Dr J, one of my favorite college professors. A medievalist, linguist, and distinguished professsor of literature and religion. In short, a modern C.S. Lewis.
• Coffee with Bonnie and Scott outdoors on one hot Texas afternoon.
• Dinner with Clay and Lori. I've eaten at more Mexican places with these people! (Of course, this time was Salvadorian...)
• Breakfast with Dawn at Breadwinner's
• My final day...using coupons to get drapes for my new apartment from Bed, Bath, & Beyond. David, Clay, Jessica, Laura, Mom, Shelley, Roman, and Bella all helped me pack. Charity came over in the evening to see me off.
• My last meal in this city...grilled chicken on focaccia with peppers and onions with Nathan and Katy. Seeing their two daughters Emma and Margaret.
• Mom and I pulled out of town Wednesday morning!

Drugs, Sex, & Gambling*

This article on CNN.com intrigued me. For those too lazy to click on the link, the story is about a nuclear scientist who was being charged with espionage by the Energy and/or Justice Departments. Information about this suspicion was leaked to the press, and the scientist lost his job in Los Alamos and was actually held in solitary confinement for nine months. Later, he sued the government as well as several media for leaking and disseminating the charges of espionage. He charged that this violated his privacy rights.

It would be interesting to go through law school to better understand cases like this, though I'm sure law school comprises more than riveting & nuanced case discussions. There may be a fair amount of reading too. However, in my limited understanding of the legal system, I know that the court presumes innocence until the defendant is proven guilty.

There also seems to be a general understanding of professional-client privilege. In other words, information doctors gain from professional encounters with patients is protected; the same is true for lawyers and clients. This argument could be extended in the practical sense to journalists and anonymous sources.

Now in this case, the results of the leak appear to have been devastating to this scientist's career. Was the leak appropriate? This makes me wonder what does constitute an appropriate leak. If the informant spoke to the reporter on the condition of anonymity, then there may be professional repercussions if it were known that he shared confidential information to the press. I guess we've seen recently in the CIA that having access to information doesn't give a person the right to decide it should be de-classified.

Back to our story. The scientist sued. It seems that the court requested the names of the informant(s) from the journalists, who in turn refused on the grounds of protecting the privilege between a journalist and an informant. The journalists were then held in contempt of the court, and the media & government agencies settled with the scientist out of court.

The most interesting thing is that the media representatitves seemed to take the moral high ground. The settlement was not meant to be a tacit admission of guilt. Rather, they settled to avoid jail time for the journalists and protect the confidentiality of their sources.

"We were reluctant to contribute anything to this settlement, but we sought relief in the courts and found none," the companies said. "Given the rulings of the federal courts in Washington and the absence of a federal shield law, we decided this was the best course to protect our sources and to protect our journalists."

And another quotation, this time from Lucy Dalglish, executive director of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, who believed the settlement to be "unusual and perhaps unprecedented." (A rather measured remark from a person who makes her living working for freedom of the press.) She goes on to say,

"I'm certainly not happy about this, but I'm not sure I could have dreamed up a better result," Dalglish said. "On the positive side, it appears that this result will allow these reporters to continue to protect their sources."

The settlement underscores the need for a federal law that would shield reporters from having to disclose their sources, she said.

I think what we have here is a discrepancy between presumed rights of journalists and the written law. Dalglish argues that because of these rights (perhaps derived from the First Amendment), the "federal shield law" is needed. But in my simple way of reading the article, I wonder if a counter argument could be made. Because there is no such shield law, journalists don't have the right to protect confidential sources when ordered by the court to reveal them.

In the medical profession, of which I've learned a little, there are exceptions for doctor-patient privacy. If a patient presents a serious danger to himself or others, appropriate people or agencies should be contacted. CPS must be called with the suspicion of child abuse. And it's required to inform the Health Department in the case of certain infectious disease. All of these provisions are in the written law.

So, why is it that some journalists believe they enjoy an unassailable right to protect confidential sources which may have infringed on other's privacy rights, especially when this right is not spelled out in the law and the courts have ordered the sources be made known? With all respect to the importance of a free press, I welcome comments on this subject.

*My original title to the post was "Individual versus Journalists' Privacy Rights," but I changed it for fear of boring away potential readers. Sorry for being misleading.