Baltimore, a Memoir, Part II

Part II

Pilgrim on a Long, Long Journey

It was in Baltimore in the spring of 1977 that I met Kristine. It was on a Sunday. Her art school was holding an open house. I managed to find the third floor of its main building and was enchanted by a work of art depicting the Hemingway family.

Now, in our infamous 2020, one of the members of my weekly, writer’s group befriended Ernest in her youth learning to love the bullfighting he so enjoyed. Additionally come April 5, 2021, Ken Burns ‘ documentary on the beloved author will air on PBS.

Returning to that momentous day in 1977, soon, Kristine arrived addressing her work of art. She had blue overalls that matched her beautiful, blue eyes.

We shared a delightful talk in which she touched on her love of tennis. That led to our first date at the tennis barn in my neighborhood.

I had purchased a condominium…

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Baltimore, a Memoir

Long ago and far away…

Pilgrim on a Long, Long Journey

It was July, 1975. I had completed my pathology residency and accepted the position of Assistant State Medical Examiner in Baltimore, Maryland. My salary had quadrupled since we were paid a pittance in residency. On the other hand, the increase had little impact on my joy.

I lived in a relatively comfortable one bedroom apartment. The apartment’s grounds held one of my favorite things, a tennis court.

It was there I played a psychiatry resident at Johns Hopkins, a Sikh Indian, who had played field hockey for Uganda, three years prior in the Olympics in Munich. He went from a novice to consistently beating me in a few short months. I discovered the attributes of this real athlete: great speed, great feel, and total focus. His team had finnished 15th among 16 field hockey teams but nevertheless he remembered his cheering countryman in a parade on his return to the…

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