Phil Penne Creations

#28 - The Doctor

 

 

     ...Not once in med school did they ever say that being a cardiologist would be easy. You’ve got people counting on you – investors, sales reps, your staff, patients - everyone wants a piece of your pie. 

        Now, to further complicate matters you’ve been invited to deliver the keynote address at a cardiology conference in Atlanta; that’s going to necessitate some major rescheduling and shuffling of patients. During lunch you’re on the cell phone with your office - Mr. Hindemann will have to be moved to 2:30 – no, wait – make that 3:00. Stewart is probably going to take extra time for the exam. Move golf with Patterson to Thursday, and cancel everything after 4:00. That will leave time for the meeting with the bank and, if you can get everything wrapped up quickly, you may have time for the interview about the new clinic. 

        Snapping shut your phone, you return the morsel of California roll captured between two chopsticks to your plate. You close your eyes, tip your head back, and dig your fingertips into the back of your neck, working them around in circles, attempting to relieve your steadily worsening tension headache. After a time you finish the last bit of sushi and the final sip of your mineral water. Before leaving the restaurant you phone the airport and leave instructions for readying your plane for the trip to Atlanta. 

        You walk across the tarmac the next morning to the waiting Beechcraft A-36. It’s an older model, early Eighties... 

 

 

 

The toll exacted by riches and fame is great. You've now reached that fabled fork in the road, and you're about to take the path less traveled.