Same Old Xanadu

9-30-12 Deerfield Beach Hilton, SE Florida 0710 Same old Xanadu; the 7 story hotel block rising out of palm trees, convenient to the freeway, not too far from the waterway and doors foggy with condensate this early AM. I’m back to what is hubristically called the Gold Coast in pursuit of the elusive medical school start up... Four days of meetings and planning’s, the waggle dances and antennae grooming we worker bees do as we move through the hive. The illusion of separation and of being in control is still a strong motivator for me, although I think age helps to keep a perspective. Nothing like aches and pains plus slow reflexes that occasionally send one crashing to the ground to give one perspective. But you wouldn’t know about that, you perpetually young thing, you. Luckily for me, I kind of enjoy the intensity of this roller coaster ride. For one thing, the project is actually something I believe in; a different way of approaching medical education. And the people I am trying to explain it to are certainly intelligent. Since my interest (a student centered inquiry directed process to replace the teacher centered process I encountered in medical school) isn’t perfectly aligned with their interest (making a profit), the talking is sometimes ...well, tedious isn’t too far off the lex-mark. And yet for the moment, there actually is some alignment; we all want to reduce the cost of medical education. And sometimes, those who live here in Xanadu on the Gold Coast do become interested in the project itself. But that doesn’t mean they lose sight of the important thing in life. The legacy of Willie Sutton is alive and well here. Yes, and you’re not the only one who feels young. The only problem is that I also have the memories of what it was like to REALLY be young. I dream of being able to dive forward onto the floor, tuck, and roll up into Judo Fighting Stance. That was 20. Or power out of a hole in the river even though I didn’t really belong in class 4 water. That was 40. Or sit easily in half lotus. That was 60. 70 is different, and yet in my mind, every time I have to pack up a household, I am waiting for the adult to come along and tell me what to do. The adults, of course, are our children. I had a brief wonderful meeting with David, my old friend and host when I lived here during medical school, and Youme who with husband Hai is raising little Song and pregnant with Loligo or Tunicate or whatever prenatal name her amazing imagination uses. Just walking around the block in the heat of the Coral Gables night, in the full moon, and the kind of connection that reminds me how much friendship and a shared perspective outlasts the palaces and the gold. Yes, and the sun is booming up out of the sea, the palms and the hotel blocks are silhouetted just like the brochures would have us believe. ‘There’s gotta be a palm on it” says Betty, one of our co-conspirators, as we plan a trifold to advertise the medical school should we pass the hurdles towards accreditation that lie ahead. Wish me luck. aloha