Posts by Calvert F Cazier, PhD, MPH
A Boy’s Life
As the only boy in my family, I always felt sorry for myself because I was surrounded by three sisters and no brothers. I love my sisters but truth be told as I was growing up I had very few commonalities with them. For example: I was not interested in spending time talking about boys;…
Read MoreTrain Station Musings
In December 1966 I was living in Italy and had just moved to the small city of Salerno, about 50 kilometers south of Napoli. I met up with another young American with whom I would be working, and we had just set out to hunt for an apartment when it happened, a sudden attack of traveler’s…
Read MoreBraggadocio
A group of hunters were sitting around the campfire after a hard day hunting. Eventually the conversation turned to their dogs and who had the smartest one. The first hunter started the bragging by talking about his Irish Setter. “When I send him to the store to buy eggs, he knows me so well…
Read MoreChoke to Death
Mrs. Bouck, my fifth-grade teacher, had a profound and positive impact on me, even though many of her teaching techniques would no doubt be unacceptable today. In fact, if she were one of my grandkids’ teacher, I’m certain I would be leery if she was still using some of her same approaches. However, my grandkids…
Read MoreThe Year 2000: Thanksgiving with a Twist
Thanksgiving Day of 2000 did not go as planned. My first wife, Carol, had just been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, devastating news that would change our family forever. We didn’t know how much time she might have left with us, and she desperately wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. Our older…
Read MoreDogs, dogs, dogs
Several years ago, I was invited to speak at a conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I took my son Peter, who was five at the time, with me and was looking forward to spending three or four days with him. We drove my truck from Salt Lake City and arrived early so we could camp…
Read MoreDeer on the Road
As Anne and I drove up a nearby canyon recently, we noticed that the river was very low, in fact it was down to little more than a trickle. The leaves of the Aspen trees had fallen to the ground, leaving the stark white bark glowing in accent against the rich green pines. The forest…
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