New York City: Music, Museums, Monuments, and Medicine

Reflecting on a memorable trip to New York City, motivated by a visit to their son. They describe the city’s transformation post-coronavirus, highlighting its safety and community cooperation. Reviews of notable memoirs and books related to NYC, including those by Carole King and Dr. Judy Melinek, enhance the narrative.

One of my favorite vacations ever was to New York City. I was curious about it but not sure I wanted to go there. But when my son’s work took him there for a year, I decided it was time to visit him and the city. And I am so glad I went. It was magical.

lady, 2 men posing together in a restaurant
good food, great company, grand city


Safest big city: After its horrors, New York City is (for now) a coronavirus success story

Deaths are rare now. Some days there are none, as the hospital ICUs scale down. And a network of scaled-up clinics and hospitals administer tens of thousands of daily tests,…

Credit the collective discipline of staying apart and wearing masks, and leadership decisions holding off on opening bars and indoor dining.

For generations, we cooperated to live in this small space. Now cooperation has helped us keep living. 

New York Daily News

A Natural Woman

I reviewed Carole King’s memoir, A Natural Woman. Carole was born in Manhattan, attended school in New York City, and started her musical career there. A musical about her life, Beautiful, plays on Broadway. (I saw Beautiful in Tulsa.)

couple in front of THE LION KING sign
We saw THE LION KING in New York

Working Stiff -a book review to remember 9/11

Another memoir, Working Stiff, happened in New York City. Dr. Judy Melinek and her husband T.J. Mitchell chronicled her work as a medical examiner with the NYC Medical Examiner’s office following the Trade Center attacks on 9/11.

New York City at night
New York City by night from the Empire State Building

Sometimes Amazing Things Happen:Heartbreak and Hope on the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Prison Ward 

I read this book in which  Dr. Elizabeth Ford reviewed her career as a psychiatrist at Bellevue Hospital, where she cared for  mentally ill patients in the criminal justice system of New York City.

When the hospital flooded and lost power during Hurricane Sandy she and the dedicated staff fought to get permission to  evacuate the prisoner patients who languished for days in a ward without running water or hot food.

What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear– a book review

Dr. Danielle Ofri has a special interest in and writes about the patient- physician relationship . She is an attending physician at Bellevue Hospital,  Associate Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine, and writes for The New York Times.

Pandemic– a book review

Medical writer Sonia Shah reviews the history of the cholera epidemic of NYC among others in her book Pandemic.

MUSEUM-BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
100 DRESSES
Our Tuneful Heritage



jewelry and ceramic figurines in a store window
window shopping



Exploring the HEART of health

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