My Friend, Skip!

“Yesterday”…I lost my best friend! What more can I possibly say that would numb the pain? Was it that he died quickly, and didn’t suffer? That would’ve been a consolation if he was old, not so much at age 59! Nothing, and I mean nothing numbs the pain of this terrible tragedy! Skip was a great friend on a personal level, but an even better colleague on a professional level!

He was a great Cardiologist, probably as good as anyone that I have ever known! His diagnostic acumen was unmatched! His bedside intuition was second to none! I’ve seen him figure things out, where others had failed miserably, at all three hospitals where we worked together over the last 25 years. Often, I would bounce things off of him knowing full well, that if anyone could help me out.... it was Skip! Amazingly, that wasn’t even his strongest attribute!

He was kind, caring, driven, and passionate about making sure that his patients were receiving the best possible care! He did not mince his words when he thought that somehow, someone had dropped the ball. He demanded better, and he would let everyone know it! It was never personal! Yet, he was unrelenting in the pursuit of excellence, and worked very hard to that end! He treated charity patients just like all of the others, giving them only, the very best of himself!

Occasionally, my patients would request that I help them find another doctor because they were unhappy with the one that they had. Not once in all of my years of practice, did a patient of his request that I help them find a different Cardiologist! It NEVER HAPPENED! His patients were his family not just in words, but in deeds, and they knew it! If I operated on one of his patients and I did not call him, he was not happy! Initially, I did not understand why. After working with him more closely though, I realized that he actually cared that much about those who trusted him with their lives. He did not care what time you called, as long as you did! We became especially close over the last ten years!

He wanted me to start a Heart Surgery Program at his Medical Center! I told him that I could not do it without his help and support! We shook hands on that promise nearly ten years ago! We may have had our differences at times, but we both agreed that it was healthy to challenge each other intellectually and professionally! We grew together as doctors and friends! Those around us thought that it was the end of the world when we took... not so subtle jabs at each other! They did not realize that he and I were.... “Joined At The Hip”!

He coined that phrase, and it was true! We were two type A personalities who had learned to leave our egos at the front door, and work together as teammates, and professionals to help our Heart Program improve and grow! We knew that together we could climb the tallest mountain, and prove all of the pundits wrong! We both gave the very best of ourselves to that end! Our great outcomes and patient satisfaction surveys speak for themselves!

His loss cannot be measured by any means! Words are just that... empty words. Still, I must try to memorialize who Skip was!

To his patients, he was the doctor who was their friend, their champion, their hope, and most importantly their cure!

To his staff, he was their big brother, their confidant, their rock, their staunchest supporter! Most of all, he was their best friend!

To our Heart Program, he was the “Cornerstone”! After all, it was on his practice to a large extent, and on his unwavering support that our Heart Center was built!

Skip liked to call me “Zeus”. Well, that made him “Jupiter”. If I was Batman, he was Superman! Skip was my action hero! His wit, his humor, his love of life, and for his children was unmatched! His commitment to our common goals was extraordinary! I can go on, and write more and more, and still feel that I’ve left something out! To finish, I’ll just borrow a verse from a poem that I wrote many many years ago!

The time has come that I let go; I have to say “goodbye”,
I nudge my shoulder from my chin, I turn a “teary eye”.
The night has passed, the Sun is up we start another day!
I now must make the best of it, and learn from...”yesterday”.

A Man Of God!!!

It had to have been during the late 1980's when I had first heard of this man. He just showed up one day, and moved into a couple of run down buildings that were inhabited by wild goats and birds. He first cleaned them out, closed the doors, and the windows. If he needed something, he looked for it, sometimes at the local dumping grounds. "You will be amazed at the things that you can find if you will only look", he has often said to me. He had no money or other luxuries. His earthly belongings were the few necessities of life. His bed was a short piece of furniture that almost resembled a storage bin. There was a small pillow on one end, and a neatly folded blanket on the other. There was plenty of wood around for the fireplace in order to keep warm, to cook, and to read. The air was clean, and the surroundings serene. He would pray, read, clean, eat, sleep, and get up the next morning only to do it all over again. The citizens of the surrounding villages took notice.

They supported his quest any way that they could. Mostly, they returned his kindness, and welcomed his presence with open arms. "Here take these books", my aunt told him, "they belonged to my great grandfather, but they will be much more useful here with you!" My great great grandfather was a priest, and those were his most prized possessions! My aunt had refused to throw them away, and was happy to have finally found them their appropriate resting place! A few donations followed enabling the return of electricity. He would conduct mass every monday evening, a tribute to the Virgin Mary. The attendance was slim at first, but that was about to change. As the attendance grew, so did the donations, which he used in his restoration of the facility. His name was Nathaniel. He was a monk assigned to the island of Karpathos, a place in "desperate need of spiritual guidance", he was told. I visited with him for the first time in 1995.

It was a tuesday afternoon on a beautiful summer day. The run down place that he had inhabited was the monastery complex of St George, once the spiritual center of the island! It was a church, an orphanage, a place of refuge for the locals during the dark years of Ottoman Turkish occupation. It was the center of learning, the underground school if you will for the Greek population. The priests, and monks would teach children religion, and the Greek language. Through the years, as people migrated away, especially after WWII, the monastery was abandoned, and eventually became the permanent home of the wild animals and birds. His mission was to try, and restore some semblance of what was!

I remember ringing the bell at the entrance. The closed iron gate was part of the self imposed isolation of every monastic community, rather than an attempt to keep people out. He came smiling, and welcomed me, and my sister into his world. I remember the walkway toward the compound. It was swept clean, and everything was immaculate. The vases lining the walkway had blooming flowers, and the orchard just beyond the flower vases was tilled and manicured. The trees were being irrigated, and looked very healthy. Just beyond the walkway, the buildings came into view. The church of St George was straight ahead. There were two houses, one to the left, and another which was off to the right of the church itself. We visited those buildings first. I was amazed at what I saw. The floors were spotless. In both buildings, the filing cabinets, and shelves were full of artifacts, mementos, and magazines. The library was fully restored. The history of the entire complex was visible in both pictures, and in print. In the 10 years that he had been there, to my eye at least, the restoration was complete. It appeared as if everything had been there for centuries! "We still have a lot of work to do", he would tell me. He made us Greek coffee, and offered some pastries. We signed the guestbook.

We went to the church last. The air inside was cool, and it felt good to escape the heat of the day. The smell of insense was everywhere. We walked in, looked around, and marveled at the shear beauty of our surroundings. Frescoes of religious significance covered the walls. The condition of the icons in front of the altar, suggested that they had been there for a long long time. He then offered a prayer, and a blessing. I looked around and noticed that the tile on the floor had eroded, but under it, in a roped off area, was what appeared to be a floor design made of smooth pebbles in a decorative configuration. This was unique in that I had never seen anything like it before, and I had visited many of the churches on the island. "This is the original floor", he said.

Through a donation shortly thereafter, the floor, and the icon station were restored to their original form. Today, the place is absolutely breathtaking. It is once again the spiritual center of Karpathos. Monday evening mass is so well attended that some of the faithful have to stand outside. The trees that were planted more than 20 years ago have now grown. The "Olive Tree", that is more than 2000 years old, still supports the church bell. Father Nathaniel has now moved on to a more important mission. Less than a year ago, he was appointed by Bartholomew, the Patriarch of the Orthodox Faith to become the new "Bishop of the Islands of Kos and Nisiros." A very high honor! He now must tend to a much larger flock.

Although he will be sorely missed by those of us who have come to know him as a brother, and friend in Christ, we certainly will never forget him, his spirit, or his message!

³¹ "So don't worry. Don't say, 'What will we eat?' Or, 'What will we drink?' Or, 'What will we wear?' ³² People who are ungodly run after all of those things. Your Father who is in heaven knows that you need them.

³³ "But put God's kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all of those things will also be given to you.

Matthew 6:31-33.

from JB..."Everything's Ok!"

“It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust – there may yet be hope.”

Lamentations 3:27-29

What do you do when you’re down and out, when life’s trials keep grinding away at you till it feels like there’s nothing left and you’re drained to the point of saying “I just can’t take it anymore”. Then “more” just keeps on coming anyway – and it seems like God either isn’t listening or isn’t there? As Christians we are told to “walk by faith and not by sight.” (Hebrews 11) From personal experience, however, I would offer that what at first seems fine “in theory”, can later translate into something totally different in practice. When adversity gets persistent and personal, walking by faith can be tough.

Our family experienced a “strong dose of the tough times” during 2005. Between many unexpected, intermittent trips to the hospital, losing a good paying job of 30 years, and dealing with ongoing, aggravating illnesses – including one family member having a stroke, and some equally intense legal issues - saying it was a “hard year” for us is a gross understatement. There were, literally, multiple, severe crises that arose every single month. At one point I can remember thinking and then saying out loud: “You know, having to deal with problems is one thing – but feeling like “God’s been using us as speed bag” is a totally different matter. (A speed bag is a piece of training equipment used by boxers to refine rapid punching skill.) I also remember finally reaching a point of being so totally angry and frustrated I shouted out loud, “Enough God, ENOUGH!”

At the time though, God in His infinite wisdom must have decided enough wasn’t yet enough. The trials continued - and at probably the lowest point, Dave, our daughter’s 25 year old fiancée died suddenly, unexpectedly! It was 3 months before their wedding. We found out later, that his death was instantaneous and mostly likely caused by injuries from a previous car accident. This was a disheartening blow to everyone in our family, and was by far, some of the worst pain ever. How do you find comfort in the fact that one minute, even though there have been struggles, the future still looks hopeful – and then in an instant, all hope is gone, replaced by super intense hurt? In these times prayer and compassion are indispensable – and we are so thankful for the response from our family in Christ –outside and inside the walls of our house.

In tough times like these though, only God can truly heal. No matter how mature the believer, hard times – this side of heaven - are inevitable. Being a Christian and being saved doesn’t guarantee immunity from adversity. What it does guarantee though is the hope and promise that trials endured will have been endured for a reason. For us, even through all of our pain, we “got it”! No matter how bad it got or how bad it ever gets, because we accepted Christ, God is never out to destroy us. He uses even the absolute worst circumstances for our good and His glory - right where we’re at. Have you gone through your own trials lately? If you have, thank God for refining you into His “silver” – but also know that silver can only be refined by fire and that only He knows exactly when it must stop.

When is silver fully refined? It is finished when the refiner sees his reflection in the molten metal, not enough heat and it’s still impure, too much and it’s ruined. Only God knows when “enough is enough”. For others to see God’s image in you, affliction is sometimes necessary. Everything will be ok at the end. If it isn’t ok….it isn’t the end!

Skeptics

I believe that we are too harsh on ourselves sometimes. If we merely second guess something that is written in the Bible, even for an instant, we feel bad. Well, we should. That just shows that we care. We should believe and accept that everything in the Bible is fact. We have already talked a bit about the faith chapter in Hebrews. The bigger question though has to do with our right to wonder how or why something has or will occur as stated in the Bible. Do we have the right to question or even doubt Biblical doctrine?

I was reading the Gospel of John today, and came across this famous passage:

36 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward." 37 Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." 38 Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.
John 13:36-38 (NRSV)

and then, this one!

5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?
John 14:5-9 (NRSV)

Hm... here are our Lord's own disciples questioning who he is and in Peter's case turning his back to him. Yet, Jesus loved them just as much after these occasions, even with their failings and human frailties. In turn, his disciples died for him long after the Resurrection.

I have heard it said that Christianity encourages us to question, ponder, and scrutinize Christian doctrine. It is part of growing up as believers, and as Gods children. In the end, our faith grows even stronger when we ourselves come to the conclusion that our understanding of the scriptures is correct, even though we do know that the Bible has stood the test of time, the cynics and the critics! The case is made even more powerful, I believe, after we have added our own cynicism and scrutiny! I personally have had some questions, one of which has to do with the resurrection of the body.

It has been said by some that for a human to try and comprehend God, is like an ant trying to understand the human mind multiplied by a trillion. I do believe however that God is constantly trying to bring us closer to Him.

12 What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
Matt 18:12 (NRSV)

To do so, He will reach out to us with His guiding hand and ...help us find our way! As long as we want to be helped, and wish to be saved! Our eyes will be opened, and our questions will be answered!

What happens to someone who perished at sea, and was devoured by fish and such? How about people that were annihilated in a nuclear bomb explosion. There was nothing left of their bodies. How can God reconstitute them in the afterlife? As a child, I could not understand how that might be possible. As my faith grew stronger, I found that I really did not need to know how, because I believe that anything is possible with God. Then, one evening a few years back, I heard Rev. Marvin Rosenthal speak about end times prophesies, and he touched upon the topic of the resurrection of the dead. I must confess that the old questions resurfaced, but recently they have been laid to rest.

The answer came with "Dolly!" If man can clone mammals and possibly even humans, the resurrection of the body in Heaven no longer seems that far fetched. All God would need would be our unique genetic code to recreate our bodily image. Now, even an... ant would conclude that God is capable of that!!!

....one breath away!

The phone rang:
"Yes?"
"This is M, want to join us for some stewed wild rabbit and wine?"
"I thought hunting season was in the winter!"
"It is, but this is a long story. I will explain when you get here. How about it, will you join us? John is coming too."
"We just ate supper, but I will certainly stop by, if only to keep you company!"

The setting was majestic. It was a cool summer night on the Island of Karpathos. We were at a country home on the eastern mountainside getaway, known as Katothio. This was an area where families with properties stayed in the summer and tended to their fruit trees, wheat fields and small livestock during the long hot summers of years past. Today, Katothio is a great place to spend the summer quietly with absolute privacy. M is probably my best friend on the Island. He is 75 years old and has been blessed with good health. He looks great for his years and joins me on most of my mountain trail excursions every summer. M's place at Katothio is a traditional Greek country home built with stones and mud. A cement coat was used to smooth the walls inside and out, which was then painted with the traditional white. It was a three room home as I recall, with a large family bedroom, a kitchen and a small bathroom. The patio was vast, the floor of which was finished with large flat stones, irregular in shape and size, cemented together. The interface between each stone was painted with a white stripe just like you see on postcards of the Greek Islands.

The smell of food was everywhere. You have to understand, the rabbit was just an excuse. M's wife, was busy cooking all sorts of other things as well. Turns out, what was to be a get together of three or four, was in fact an informal sit down dinner for ten people. In addition to me and John, there was M and his wife, his nephew with his wife and son, and three more guests including a retired teacher and his wife. Several tables were lined up in the center of the patio in such a way, so that it was possible to sit together and enjoy each other's company and conversation. I wasn't hungry, but I did nibble on the fresh salad, the homemade sausage, the fresh cooked greens and of course on the rabbit.

Turns out, that in the late afternoon of the day before, M was on his way to the beach to start his mountain climb, when he saw this very large bird, struggling to fly away with something big. All this was happening in the middle of the dirt road, maybe twenty yards from his car, right in front of him. After appraising the situation quickly, he realized that a hawk had killed a massive hare, which was so large, that the bird could not fly away with it. Having seen the oncoming car, the bird sank its talons into its prize, but could not ...get off of the ground with the bunny! Ever the opportunist, M jumped out of the car, ran toward the hawk which abandoning its prey, flew away. Hence, the fresh kill made for a rare summer delicacy, and a topic for some laughs on that memorable evening.

The wine was special. Homemade with Karpathian sun sweetened grapes, probably from two to three years before. After a couple of drinks, the discussion turned from the food, to the weather, to the tourists, to our children and to the present. Suddenly, the following statement was made:

"This is what life is all about. Good food, good wine, and great company in a beautiful setting. We must enjoy this while we are still alive because when we die, there is ...nothing!"

I was stunned! I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I started to respond by saying, "...but, the Holy Scriptures tell us that we have Paradise to look forward to if we live ..." I wanted to say, "a Christian life", but I was interrupted:

"The Holy Scriptures, the Holy Scriptures..."

I immediately understood that this was not a good time to discuss the Bible. Any comments from me would not have been welcome on this topic. I was left to ponder, reflect and try to understand how these good men, who live good clean lives, who go to church on Sunday can be so oblivious to the fact that paradise does await us and could be just ....one breath away!

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Matt 7:21 (NRSV)

Brain ...waves!

I absolutely love the Book of Hebrews. Hebrews 11:8-39 in particular, is one of my favorite sections. To have such faith would entail an unwavering conviction on what the Bible tells us. To accept the existence of things both seen and ...unseen whether it can or cannot be explained by the human condition. Let me explain!

I remember growing up on the island of Karpathos. Kids are so impressionable and inquisitive. I was no different. I remember nagging my grandmother with endless questions. Some of my inquiries were mundane, which we will not discuss here, but other questions were rather important!

"Where does God live?"
"Up there" she would say, pointing to the sky!
"Why can't we see God?
"God is invisible, but He can see you ...especially when you're bad!"
"Is God married?"
"No"
"Well, how can He have a son if He doesn't have a wife?"
"Because He can. That's why He's God!"


This would go back and forth for awhile. I would ask the question and she would provide me with the answer. I never questioned her response. What she told me was fact. I could never sense any doubt from her part and I believed her. I miss my grandmother so much. She was so patient with me, and taught me so many things!

"What happens when we die?"
"If you're good you will go to Heaven, but if you're bad you will go to hell!"

That of course brought on more questions and then, even more answers. The innocence of a child!



1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 18:1-4 (NRSV)



"Are we all gonna die?"
"All except those who will be alive when Christ returns. All the people who have been good will go to Heaven with Jesus Christ, but if you were bad you will be cast into hell." "God can even read your thoughts, you know!"

The next time I remember hearing that, was many years later at the house of a friend, Eric Smith, in Williamsport. John Leo was there too. We were teenagers now and we were listening to George Carlin's infamous "Class Clown" album. You know, the "seven words" that you can't say, or rather couldn't say, on television. It seems that you can say anything on television these days!

Before George gets to the "bad words" part, on the album, he talks about growing up as an Irish Catholic, and goes on to poke some fun at confession.


George Carlin is troubled that he must confess his "impure thoughts", because he is "heavily into puberty" now, if he is to be forgiven for those sins. That seemed very odd. Here was George Carlin, a self professed "master of filth", who was saying something meaningful even in the midst of probably one of the most profane creations ever to be recorded. Even in his mind there was no question about it, thinking something bad was just as sinful as actually doing it. Either way ...God knows! So, why am I bringing all of this up? Well, because now we actually have scientific evidence that may help some understand how this might be possible even in human terms.

Recently, there was a study at a University Neurophysiology lab where human volunteers were subjected to a test. Each subject was asked to say or read a sentence out loud. During this time neuromagnetic recordings of their brain activity were made. The same subjects were then instructed to once again say or read that same sentence by "thinking"it. No sound was to be made the second time around. The neuromagnetic waves during this phase of the study were also recorded.


What they found was that whether we said something or just merely thought that very thing, the neuromagnetic tracing was identical. Imagine that!


27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matt 5:27-28 (NRSV)

A Beacon of Light!

In my recent travels via the Internet, I stumbled upon a true Beacon of Light of the Christian Faith. It is a web site Agio Oros which means Holy Mountain. Unfortunately, its pages are in the Greek language so most of you cannot read it. I have been visiting this web site off and on now, for almost one year and have found their posts to be enlightening and fulfilling. For those who are not familiar with Agio Oros, also know as Mount Athos, here is a brief history lesson. Mount Athos is a monastic community that was founded more than 1200 years ago. It is stated that the Virgin Mary herself visited there in 49 A.D.

Sadly, like everything else that is Christian and wonderful about our faith, this web site had come under attack recently by vandals and internet hackers. Anyone surprised? It was down for almost three weeks last November, before its functionality was restored. During this whole process, I was very angry at being denied my daily "spiritual fix"! I felt violated as a Christian. How dare those "heathens" do such a thing? I lashed out in my mind against muslim extremists, atheists, and all of the enemies of our faith. I learned a valuable lesson during this process that I now wish to share!

It was the monks themselves, that live and die by the Lord, that opened my eyes! Lets not forget that these are the spiritual leaders of our faith. The very fiber of what we should be as Christians. The front lines, if you will, against all of Satan's attempts to bring us down. These are people who have given their lives to our Lord. They pray and work day and night, longing for nothing more than to be forgiven for their sins. Their very existence is defined not only by what little they have in worldly goods, but also by the abundance in their spiritual fortitude. I initially missed their message.

During the down time, a word or two at the site mentioned something to the effect that "hackers have shut us down." When the web site finally came back up, it picked up right where it had left off. Their message went on unabated, and the posts continued to flow like a mountain stream toward inevitability....the big blue sea! There was no condemnation, no calls for reprisal. They did not cry foul, nor did their posts even mention what had just transpired! I kept on looking for the outcry that was certainly coming!!! It never came.

The Monks of Mount Athos just turned the other...cheek! They do get it!!! I am so inspired by their conduct, I am in awe! Their message bears the very essence of our faith. Actions do speak louder than words and they did exactly what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would've done. Why did I ...not see that coming?