As a boy, he jumped off his roof with an umbrella after watching Mary Poppins. The bushes, not puffy clouds, greeted his earth-bound bottom.
As a teen, he escaped Hurricane Andrew while hiding in his garage under a pool table with his brother and father. They saw the walls bow in and out and the corner of the roof lift as water poured in and the winds clocked speeds at over 160mph.
As a med student, he looked across the Hudson River through the windows on the top floor of a Brooklyn hospital. Gathered with other staff, they witnessed the second Twin Tower of the World Trade Center collapse to the ground in a billow of smoke while surrounded by empty beds set up everywhere for ferried victims that never arrived.
As a young resident, he landed at La Guardia Airport after completing an elective rotation overseas. Only to discover that a devastating tsunami had wiped out thousands on the very beaches of South India he strolled with his family days before.
As a physician, his heart breaks when he has to inform a patient of an incurable diagnosis. Although he says farewell to life frequently, he still weeps over the final breaths of those he took care of.
And as a son, a brother, a father and a friend, he strives to make time for those living and precious to him.
My Sunshine. My love. My priceless gift from heaven.
That boy, now a man…is my hubs. My best friend.
I love the Mary poppins story!