I appreciate everyone reading my weekly posts about this interesting year between medicine (1.0 FTE) and writing. I’m starting to get some of those unsettling questions, though, like, “What are you writing?” Puts me on the spot. I am unpracticed in apologetic hand waving and have a natural tendency to feel guilty. Afraid to confess … More Gap year; week 14
Welcome or welcome back to my travels between respectability and susceptibility. Less than three months ago I was an employed clinical geneticist. Now I’m the retiree ordering a cappuccino in the forenoon. This month my plans have been to focus on nonfiction, including medicine, but I have not been especially efficient. We took a week … More Gap Year -> Week Eleven
Truth is stranger than fiction. You can see here a beard (me) in a hooded sweatshirt. What is probably true is that it is my Hamilton College lacrosse sweatshirt, last worn in 1979, then saved in several generations of cardboard boxes and moved from Clinton to Baltimore to Boston to Bethesda, Tacoma, Seoul, Vienna (VA), … More Gap Year | Week 9
This goalie says, “I find your aim to be …. disappointing.” Springtime, or close enough to spring, means one important thing. Lacrosse season is here. I watched Georgetown (ranked 19) beat Notre Dame (ranked 1) in Indiana. Very exciting. I played lax WBITD (Way Back In The Day), and my family has some lacrosse heritage … More Gap Year – Week 8
Today, I saw bluebonnets! There were periwinkle blossoms last week. First flowers are exciting for their annual perfection and reassurance that the world turns, that the axis is sure. Hold on. Weren’t we skiing just a week or two ago? The weather has been lovely here in San Antonio, but bluebonnets in mid-February seems early … More Gap Year | Week Seven | Lupinus texensis
For the better part of a year I’ve been thinking about an MFA in writing. … More Gap Year: Week 6
Ontology and cheeseburgers! Last week we skied Crested Butte (Colorado) and Taos (New Mexico) on bluesky mornings and afternoons, almost spring temperatures, to the point that a few snowboarders at the top of Siver Queen Express opted to honor their bravado and pectorales majores by not wearing shirts. No, I doubt they bothered with sunscreen. … More Gap Year: Week 5
On 8 January 2024 I retired from a career in medicine and am taking this next year to gather forces, or hoist myself by my own petards, before undertaking another crazy line of work. We are now winding up the first month of the gap year journey. We have spent the last week of January … More Gap Year: Week 4
We are getting used to Summit County, Colorado. Over the past 2 weeks we have skied Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, and Vail. The idea is to get better, and today we were happily – well, maybe not happily, but with a modicum of attenuated terror – handling bumps and blacks. And minimal injuries! All I … More Gap Year: January 22, 2024
Late lunch at Bread and Salt in Frisco. Paula and I walked down 5th to Main, the windy snow at our backs, the atmosphere January grey. Curbside seating was not offered. The patio chairs and bistro tables were mounded with a cubit of snow, the yellow umbrellas furled and resentful of the chill and desertion. … More Gap Year: January 15, 2024
Scott D. McLean, MD 