The Boy Teacher and The Father Student #50; Seasons for everything

Adult men are just an older version of a boy and a father. If things go well the father still thinks of the boy as young but treats him as a peer. If things go well the boy still thinks of his father like a loving dad and yet treats him like a peer. In this exchange the Father is 80 years young and the boy is 40 years old. By then both men had raised children. Both men were extremely well educated by academia. Between them there were 4 post graduate degrees including 3 doctorates. It began by phone and email about 1989.

Now this story different than many of this series and should be considered a work of fiction.

F: Hello boy this is your old man.

B: Hey dad it has been some time how did you track me down.

F: Son you can still call the operator or whatever it is called now and you are online now and you work for a company.

B: Wow dad you are on line now? That’s great!

F: Just because I am old doesn’t make me ignorant this old dog can still learn new tricks.

B: For me that is old dogs can learn old tricks. Are you still on that worker’s comp. Board or are you banished for senility?

F: Still participate by phone, they have these new things called conferencing. Or is that an old thing any who I slowed down a bit.

B: I have not heard “any who” since we last talked. It still cracks me up. That is really cool that you are still in the game. But I seem to think Reagan was 79 as president. Oh did you know him through your Hollyweird connections.

F: We did meet up when I was set doctor about ’49 I think. Hey is old Doc. McMahon still above ground?

B: I think so last I heard from his son Rob he was. That was after our trip to run with the bulls.

F: How did that go?

B: I am talking to you aren’t I?

F: You haven’t lost that wit boy. I have your work email can I email you there?

B: Dad that would be awesome. Oh now I get it. That board set you up with that stuff. You cannot fake it with a retired trial lawyer dad. Remember when you were my expert witness. That was really fun.

F: It would have been if you won. Do you still blame it on me?

B: Why not it makes me feel better, ha ha ha.

And so the father and son reunion is just as fun as it could be. Nothing in depth but the beginning of a new three year relationship that would only end in death. Now the father was a conniving man and he had a plan. If they could work together on a project he could even bump the relationship up a notch.

Yet the boy had a plan too and off they would go on an adventure.

F: It’s your dear old dad again. How are you son?

B: Way overworked, under paid and stressed out. And loving every minute of it. How are you doing Doc.

F: Do they still call you “doctor” overseas? I thought in Mexico it was still called consigliere.

B: Yea but I taught in Mexico so it goes to doctor – I could explain the history but I do not need to give you a lesson on that.

F: No I would love to hear it.

B: Cool I will send you an email with the paper I wrote for foreign businessmen. Hey do you remember that cool language they used for air traffic control and pilots? It had like 100 English words. In countries with low bandwidth we are using it again to keep things short and sweet.

F: Oh that is what I see dealing with WHO*. Almost like Pidgeon English.

B: In the biz they are working on programs to do translations right in the emails. I think Microsoft already has a prototype they use internally. As usual the French are fighting the idea. No one can mess with French. They are having more problems because of that than the communists are having with internet.

F: I would like your help with my input to WHO. I don’t quite get the policy on incorporating Internet technology in medicine.

B: Absolutely if you help me with our remote connections from hospitals to rural clinics in developing nations. Don’t worry it is a political move to get government contracts for profit. Don’t think our company does anything altruistic. At the moment my ministry work is on hold. Although I am dealing with these folks in the gov. that call themselves ministers.

F: Very funny son. Sounds like we have a deal. I will send you an email on the project.

B: No need they are interacting with ICANN** that is how I am familiar. And that is part of the impetus for remote medical care especially with surgeries. A “kind of” doc. out in the boonies while not really qualified can save a life like with appendicitis. Can you imagine a doctor at the Mayo clinic directing a surgery in village outside of Nairobi.

F: Remember old doc. Yard and Lee Hutchison. They did an appendectomy over a ham radio and Lee had only removed testicles*** before that.

B: Hey dad it is your best son calling. Or is that wisest son. Seems to me they are not always synonymous.

F: Maybe the wisest might be but certainly not the smartest although your case you are both so it can work. Ha Ha Ha

B: Dad I am thinking and working on the notion of online basic texts that list most ailments. Not like a med school text more like instructions on how to put together bikes for Christmas. (Of which I do not read) Kind of like those such and such for idiot books. Bandwidth is a big issue so the WHO needs to pay to make it happen and get disseminated in hard copy.

F: Son you are onto something here. WHO is leaning toward the idea that educational material for health care workers may be more valuable than the medicine. And you know those types, if they can put their name on a publication they are all in. Translations is a hurdle right now because you need an interpreter who is also savvy in medicine. We are seeing that with websites also. And half of these languages don’t even have a paramedic that can speak English or whatever.

B: What would you think about a top Med School teaming with a top language school?

F: You are late to the dance son, already working on it in English to set up protocol in other developed nations. All you have to do is waive the idea of publishing a paper on it and those post doctorate academia types get all over it in hopes of getting tenure. Haven’t met one yet that wants to do it for the right reasons.

B: I think we should start getting our website designers to collaborate so as bandwidth increases we are a head of the curb. Of course everything at that end will be for profit. Morality is outlawed when mass communication is involved, as you well know.

To be continued….

*World Health Organization – UN

** ICANN – Internet Corporation for the Assignment of Names and Numbers. Develop technical and policy for international internet use.

***The reference to testicle here is the castration of range bulls so only the really good bulls can breed. In a restaurant Western Mountain repute the will be on the menu as Rocky Mountain Oysters – I kid you not.