Happy Birthday, William Carlos Williams

With the wonders of google alert, I was pleasantly suprised to receive the following awaiting me in my inbox:

Happy Birthday, William Carlos Williams findingDulcinea - New York,New York,USAWilliam Carlos Williams was the first child of British-born William George Williams and Puerto Rican-born, Raquel Helene Hoheb, born on September 17, ...http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/happy-birthday/2008/Sep/William-Carlos-Williams.html

To those of you who may not be familiar with William Carlos Williams, he was a Pulitzer prize-winning author, a compassionate doctor and I am proud to say, a relative of mine. I never met him in person but he was a steady presence in our household growing up. His books sat in a revered place on our family bookshelf in the living room which also displayed an Etruscan vase, a centuries old Buddha given to a relative for providing electricity to the palace in Siam and a mahogony chess set. Although WCW was not alive when I was born, he had a steady presence through conversations in our family. He had asked my grandparents - who were both physicians - to oversee his practice while he was on extended leave in Europe, in the literary circles of Esra Pound and others.

It wasn't until I was in high school that I read a few of his poems, and in my naivitee - they did not ring a bell. A few more years past and in college, I became interested and read his autobiography which I lapped up since it included the rich history of Raquel Hoheb. I remember being suprised that he had referenced Wanamaker soap - because for years - that was the special soap my mother had ordered. It came in a pretty box and was stored in our linen closet for special occassions. Small details...but yet...they provided a thread of connection. And as more years past and I pursued my master's degree in healthcare administration and read his book "The Doctor Stories" ....I felt like I knew him. He came to life for me as he described helping patients that had very little means, patients that were from other countries, stories of life and death.

From time to time, he comes to life again. week at a medical tourism conference, I met a physician from Tunisia and she is an avid reader. She is a general practitioner who is devoted to her patients. We talked about late night rounds, and that only 2% of the graduating medical students are going into general practice. Before I knew it, I was mentioning "The Doctor Stories" and soon I was telling her about my distant relationship to the author. I guess I am just proud of my family. What can I say?

What I find so intriguing about WCW is that he combined two passions that were so different from each other and was incredibly successful at both. I have my own collection of his books now, and today I will make it a point, to celebrate his life by reading his works.

Happy Birthday WCW!