I have received e-mails on a regular basis for at least 10 years from a woman I met when I was 13 years-old. That woman's name is Linda. She's quite special to me. I met Linda for the first time when I was a paper-boy in Seaford. My Newsday route included Hickory Street. Linda was the youngest in a "gang" of cute girls who used to "hang out" there. My friend Danny Tobin delivered the Post on the same block, and we would stop (on purpose) to chat, hopefully to connect with the "Hickory Street Cuties."
Linda ran up to me one day and gave me a letter which read "Dear paper-boy, do you like me? I like you. Please check "yes" or "no." Love, Brenda." The girls didn't know my name. I didn't know theirs. Then Mary (the most mature one of the group) came up to me and said "So what's it gonna be, paper-boy?" Do you like her, or not? She pointed out Brenda, who ran and hid, the moment Mary started walking towards me). I told Mary I thought her younger sister Joan was kind of cute (Joan was actually spectacularly beautiful). Mary assisted to getting one shy boy enough courage to ask out one shy girl. Joan and I dated for a year. A boy in my class (Alan Guenzel) came up to me one day and asked to let him know if Joan and I ever broke up, because he was interested in dating her. I was pretty upset by his request, never speaking to him again until one fateful or divine graduation party of a mutual friend named Jim, about 4 years later. Our first conversation at Jim's party was triggered by the "Joan" incident. Chatting with Al that day led to Al becoming one of my closest friends and a person I admire tremendously. I was the best man at his wedding (he married his college sweetheart, Sabrina).
I gave Joan a gold ring with my initials, on our one-month anniversary. She gave me a bracelet with "Tommy" inscribed on it. The relationship was pure "puppy love." My friend Wesley from Staten Island had much influence on me, but not in the world of " wine, woman and song ."
Mary and I had all the same classes as we were both the same age and in the advanced track, and stayed close friends. I took Mary (platonically) to the prom, which I still feel bad about that, because I didn't realize Joan still cared for me. When I went to their house to pick up Mary for the prom, Joan looked at Mary and I and said "I think I'm gonna throw up," and ran away, crying. I was completely traumatized. I realized what a fool I was, as I could have (and should have) asked Joan to the prom.
Joan became a nurse, and I had the pleasure of bumping into her one day at Winthrop Hospital during an Infectious Disease externship, about 12 years after our first date. We met for lunch a few times in the hospital cafeteria. I still was crazy about Joan, but was too shy to let her know, and nervous about being rejected. I haven't seen Joan since. I recently dated a woman who reminded me so much of Joan. The relationship was longer and a bit more complicated, and another story for another time.
Linda and I stayed good friends. She sends me e-mails of stories which teach a message about life. The family member of a girl I hope to help recently said to me he felt "divine intervention" since my addition to their tragic story. My response to him was everything in life is divine, as each step on the starcase of faith is necessary in order to reach the last one, which leads to success. I've called a lot of moments in my life "divine intervention," and never appreciated the "divine" pre-requisites which led to a particular success. After reading the family member's e-mail, I instantly recalled one of Linda's e-mails, which demonstrates the steps of faith:
A man is relaxing on his porch at home. Suddenly another man on a horse trots by swiftly and exclaims "you have to leave your home and head for higher ground! There's going to be a big flood." The man on the porch looks up at the sky and says "I have faith in You, God, and I know you will save me if I need to be saved." About an hour later the water starts to rush into the neighborhood, so high that the man goes up to the second floor of his home, and stares out his window. Suddenly a man paddles by in a boat, and says "Get in the boat so that you don't drown!" The man in the house declines the offer, then looks up at the sky, and repeats the same phrase he said before. The water keeps rising, causing the man to head to his roof, Suddenly a helicopter appears and drops down a ladder. A man's voice exclaims on a bull-horn "Climb up before you drown!" The man declines the offer, and repeats the words he said to the heavens twice before. The water rises above the roof-top and the man drowns. Suddenly he is before God. The "victimized" man looks at God and says rather angrily, "God, I place so much faith in You, so when I needed you most, why did you turn your back on me?" God answered, "My son, how could you say such a thing? I sent you a horse, a boat, and even a helicopter. What more could I do?"
(Thanks, Linda. I probably haven't thanked you enough for you to realize I actually read all of your e-mails. In my heart you will always be a "Hickory Street Cutie.")
The story above insprired the following response from the same family member:
A man is walking along one day and falls in a deep hole and can't get out. After awhile, a lawyer comes along and the man screams to him, "help me- I can't get out." The lawyer throws his card down and moves along. A little while later, a priest comes along and the man yells, "help me father, I'm stuck and I can't get out." The priest says a little prayer and moves along. A little while later, his friend comes along and the man screams again, "Help friend, I'm stuck and can't get out." His friend immediately jumps down. The man says, "why did you do that, now we're both stuck down here?" His friend replies, "ahhh, but I've been here before, and I know the way out."
"Learn from the past, look to the future, but live in the present." - Petra Nemcova
"When you look up in the sky, you can see the stars and still not see the light." - Glen Frey
"The man who does nothing, makes no mistakes." - Jerry Lewis
"With every mistake, we must surely be learning." - George Harrison
"Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that." - George Carlin
More Essays
The essays below include my formal (and informal) education, "magic moments," and opinions on healthcare and politics. Magic Moments are those episodes which enhance life with enlightenment and wisdom. They are the spiritual learning experiences which re-shape our souls, and change the way we perceive the world, ourselves, and others. Such moments are often associated with a smile both at the time of occurrence and each reflection thereafter, and hopefully, when they are shared with others.
Dr Bolte runs an comprehensive integrated medical clinic and urgent care center in midtown Manhattan, and makes physician house call visits to local area midtown nyc residents and hotel guests. More info on Doctor Bolte on his personal webpage and New York Urgent Care website.
