Unexpected pleasures...

“With a library it is easier to hope for serendipity

than to look for a precise answer.”

- Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket),

When did you see her last?

He was sitting on a brown colored couch ten feet from the down stairs escalator and a few feet away from the luggage carousel.  

To his left was a ceiling mounted closed circuit television displaying exiting passengers some 150 feet before the down staircase and escalator to the airport exit. The approaching images on the screen gave those waiting with limousines, flowers and simple ‘welcome home’ hugs time to be on their feet when the person they awaited descended to luggage areas 6 & 7.

Had I not misunderstood his schedule, I would have been standing there, but I was late so there he sat.

When he saw me, he leaned forward for a little momentum and stood up.

“Well Ted, you look just about the same.”

We both smiled knowing this is the sort of things people say to one another when it has been several years from the last visit.

The truth is, aside from being a little slower from more than eight and a half decades on the planet, he did look pretty much the same.  At this age, he is still in demand as a practicing physician.

“I have had bilateral knees done, so I use this cane for a little balance,” he said

And with that we were off to the car.

Garth Samuel Russell…In my life he is one of those fellows for whom words fail, or perhaps there are so many it is difficult to know where to begin.

Seeing him brought a flood of memories and gratitude for the great life I have had.

That would have been more than enough, if it hadn’t been for his partner arriving a few hours later.

Robert Raymond (Ray) Cunningham arrived in the early afternoon from Columbia, via Dallas.  This time I was early; saw him coming down the hallway and waited at the bottom of the stairs as he descended into the baggage area.

No escalator for this mid-seventies orthopedist, just a ‘still light of foot’ friend who’s descent to the arrival lounge warmed my heart.

39 years earlier…

“Ted? This is Dr. Russell from the Columbia Orthopedic Group. I understand you can write.”

This brief cold call from a man I did not know, nor had ever met, changed my life in completely incalculable ways.

The year was 1987 and I was teaching at one of America’s 12 historically African American land grant universities founded in 1866 in Jefferson City, Missouri.

“Why don’t you come by the office here in Columbia this Friday if it’s convenient. I should be finished clinic by five o’clock.”

By the end of that year, I had begun working for this man, and over the next decade I watched him build this practice into the largest orthopedic group in the Midwest.  As his research director, my career grew right along with the practice.

Ray Cunningham joined the group in the early 90s.  He was/is one of the more unique orthopedists…no that’s not exactly right…one of the more unique men I have met in my life.  A true iconoclast, yet he is modestly thoughtful with a richly deep sense of caring for people in his life.

While I worked for Dr. Russell and the other spine surgeons, Ray befriended me.  There was an affinity I felt that blossomed over the years, through mutual respect, good humor and an unpredictability that frequently surprised me.

There are a lot of stories that could be told about my experiences with this man, but the one I am most appreciative of was being asked to marry he and his ‘to be’ wife Sue.

During those years, I was part of a spiritual community and a part time minister. I had performed a few weddings before this and a few after, but the ceremony in Ray’s home with a small group of his friends and family is one of the standout experiences of my life.  This wasn’t someone I met briefly, counseled and then married…it was a friend, and the opportunity to do this wedding was both ceremonial and sacred for me.

Whenever I return to Columbia, Ray is high on my list for a visit. Little is better than coffee, maybe some bread to break and lively conversation with this man.  As genuine as the day is long, if he considers you a friend, he means it – plain and simple.

Marcus Cicero, in his Treatise, On Friendship writes this concerning the subject:

“…with the exception of wisdom, I am inclined to think nothing better than this has been given to man by the immortal gods.”

I think Cicero must have had men like Ray in mind when he wrote these words.

The end of the week…

So it was these two fellows, for whom I have the greatest affection, who found themselves in Tucson, Arizona for a medical meeting, and in my presence and heart once again as we spent a little time together.

One might say it was serendipity that brought me together with these men nearly four decades ago, and serendipity they decided to take this course in Tucson. One might say that, but I would not.

I would say, there is a God who seems to take pleasure, or at the very least care for his children, by arranging circumstances for no other reason than an expression of love for which He is counted author.

We have all had these sorts of experiences at one time or another in our lives, and as a recipient of such a gift this week, I can only say ‘thanks.’

- ted