Woody Woodburn, Columnist Published 8:56 a.m. PT Sept. 18, 2020 <\/p>\n
As long as Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other ballplayers in the movie Field of Dreams stay on the magical baseball diamond in an Iowa cornfield, they remain forever young.<\/p>\n
We learn this when young outfielder Moonlight Graham steps across the first-base foul line and becomes his elderly self as Dr. Archibald Graham, giving up immortality in order to save Ray Kinsellas young daughter from choking.<\/p>\n
In response to my column last week, readerLindsay Nielson shared a humorous anecdote about feeling like he had crossed the foul line in the opposite direction during his annual physical with Dr. Geoff Loman.<\/p>\n
I told him, Doc, I think I am immortal, Nielson wrote in an email. Really? Why is that?came his response.<\/p>\n
I rattled off all the things I had been through two heart attacks; a fall that resulted in three screws to hold my hip together and a titanium bar in my femur; a few stent implants; back surgery that resulted in eight screws in my spine; and my second home in Palm Springs had burned to the ground, etc.<\/p>\n
Dr. Loman said, Wow, Lindsay, that is something. But, I went to a pretty good medical school and it is my opinion that you probably arent immortal. <\/p>\n
As the mortal Dr. Graham, Burt Lancasters character sagely says of his disappointing one-game career in the Big Leagues without an at-bat: If Id only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes now thatwould have been a tragedy.<\/p>\n
Rick Throckmorton feels it would have been a tragedy had his own family doctor not had a long medical career, writing: Your column brought back old memories of Dr. Albert Crites, who founded the Port Hueneme Belinda Hospital, later Adventist Hospital. I dont know if he was a poet or not, but I remember him as surely being an angel or saint in disguise on earth.<\/p>\n
Dr. Crites treated my grandmother, who was a sad hypochondriac, and who visited him almost daily with her alleged aches and pains. Once, I accompanied her while I was on a leave from the Army. I remember him saying, Bessie, now you know theres nothing wrong with you, but I have something that might help. Its a wonder medicine. He would give her a vial of what I later learned were plain sugar pills, but Grandmom was always better after taking them!<\/p>\n
Dr. Crites once fixed my broken finger (before splinting it) by pulling it straight after telling me, Ricky, this is gonna hurt a little! I was in the seventh grade and a fly ball had hit squarely on top of my ring finger and broke it to 90 degrees. It hurt like heck, but Dr Crites soothing words calmed the tears.<\/p>\n
Some years later, I was involved in a serious accident while in Hueneme High School and the ambulance took me to Adventist Hospital. I had not seen Dr. Crites since the broken-finger incident and there he was. He said again, Ricky, looks like this is gonna to hurt a little as he treated my severe burns.<\/p>\n
Dr. Crites took care of my mom, too, as she had to have full hysterectomy; and my WWII veteran dads bad heart; and I was there with Dr. Crites when dad passed away early from a massive heart attack.<\/p>\n
In the movie Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones character Terence Mann says, Every town has a Doctor Graham, Throckmorton concluded. Andevery town has, or should have, a Doctor Crites.<\/p>\n
If not, now thatwould be a tragedy.<\/p>\n
Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Star and can be contacted atWoodyWriter@gmail.com<\/a>. His books are available atwww.WoodyWoodburn.com.<\/p>\n Read or Share this story: https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/opinion\/columnists\/2020\/09\/18\/woodburn-every-town-has-its-own-moonlight\/3482855001\/<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excerpt from:<\/p>\n Woodburn: Every town has its own 'Moonlight' - VC Star<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Woody Woodburn, Columnist Published 8:56 a.m. PT Sept. Continue reading