For Cookie

I used to get horrible head aches in the mornings. It had been going on for several weeks.

Finally, my mother decided to take me to the government hospital which was free and soon to be doctors were practicing their future trades.

After explaining the pains that I had been suffering, the attending doctor examined me very closely and stated that I had a large tumor in my head which needed to be operated on and removed.

He scheduled me for the operation in two days time and requested my mother to take me to the barber shop and have him shave my hair with a sharp straight razer.

The order was carried out and my head looked like a boiled egg.

My great uncle who had studied medicine in the pre revolution Russia, used to come to our house occasionally for the Turkish coffee and the cake ceremony which my mother used to serve to the old friends and relatives.

He saw my shaved head and asked what had happened. My mother explained my situation and the fact that I was going to have a brain surgery to remove a large tumor from inside my head.

His mouth was left open and he showed a deep anger and said he has to take me to his friend's hospital and use his fluoroscope to see what was happening.

We got dressed and went to the friend's hospital and was placed behind the scope and could clearly see the dark spots around my sinuous areas.

I did not have any tumor, but a severe case of the sinuses.

The doctors started laughing and making fun of the new crops of the medical doctors.

They were saying God save the poor patients who are unfortunate enough to cross their hands.

It was the days of the Second World War and there was hardly any medicine for the unfortunate civilians, but the old doctors were familiar with the old fashioned steam inhalation of the steam treatments.

I was receiving daily treatments and my inflamed sinuses were cleared up and I was saved from the sure death at the hands of the new crop of doctors.

I am sure they were burying a lot of their errors in the nearby cemeteries, before they could be discovered.

May God save us from the premature deaths and the sufferings.

Things have not changed much from those good old days, except prices es have sky rocketed and the lawyers have gotten involved for the benefit of the humanity and the sky rocketing of the malpractice insurance.

It is nice to see that this is not only in America, the rest of world has caught up with us, well the lawyers are people too, and they need to support their life styles.