Posts by Calvert F Cazier, PhD, MPH
Ditching My Promise
An important lesson I learned from my cousins in Star Valley Wyoming was that they were the luckiest people in the world and I was the unluckiest. It didn’t matter what we were doing because if anyone was going to be embarrassed, laughed at, frustrated, or get into trouble, it would be me. I…
Read MoreLife Is Like Riding A Bicycle
This past summer, my family spent a couple of days at an inn located on a farm in rural Belgium. One evening my wife and I decided to go for a walk and we walked into an old barn located on the property. Tacked to the wall was a piece of paper with the…
Read More“On Belay”
My father-in-law, David C. Evans, mentored hundreds of boys during his 27 year tenure as a scoutmaster. He trained and inspired his scouts to be prepared and accountable for their scouting adventures and for life. One day, more than forty years ago, Dave took a group of scouts plus his 10 year old son…
Read MoreMarsha
When I was in the seventh grade I was shy around girls. The stress of talking to a girl was almost more than I could endure. It was traditional that the seventh graders had an end of the year dance requiring dance cards. I was traumatized at the thought of being expected to attend…
Read MoreAnne Sullivan – Teacher of Helen Keller
Anne Sullivan is well known as the teacher that helped Helen Keller turn her life around. What many don’t know is that Anne had her own challenges to overcome. When she was 10 years old she was placed in an orphanage, and, at 14 she was able to go to school after pleading with…
Read MoreAn Ape In My Car
A few years ago we spent a week in Spain and as part of the trip we went to the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ to visit the apes that lived there. In reality they were not apes but Barbary macaques (monkeys), often referred to as Barbary apes1. We hired a guide and were warned to be careful because…
Read MoreA Father’s Hands
A few years ago I attended the funeral of my uncle who was a successful rancher for more than 90 years. During the funeral his son described his dad’s hands as rough, snarled, and callused by a lifetime of hard work. During the service I was sitting between my sister and another uncle who…
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