I can still imagine the scents and the tastes: steam coming from the crispy brown skin of the 25 pound Turkey bird, sweetness from the marshmallow covered yams, whipped mashed potatoes covered with gallons of thick gravy, and oven baked rolls as well as pies. As I was envisioning that perfect Thanksgiving meal, a smile came to my face. That smile became even broader as I remembered watching football games on TV after the meal.

Well, even though those memories are nice ones, they are not actually mine. They might have been my “hallucinations” of what a perfect Thanksgiving would have been like growing up.

See, my parents got married on Thanksgiving over 40 years ago. My mother stated she refused to cook on her anniversary. That meant no oven browned Turkey; no mashed potatoes; not even any yams.

Millions of mothers were busy cooking for their families on Thanksgiving; however, not mine. Mine was busy preparing for her anniversary—and that mean...

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The holidays are many people’s favorite time of year. People really get into the true reason for the holidays: miracles, good cheer, helping your fellow man … However, others, like me as a 7 year old little boy, only thought of one thing: PRESENTS!

Every year the holidays would come and while my friends had “millions” of gifts under their trees (and in their living room for my Jewish friends), I would only get one gift. My parents would always say that “we could not afford anything else; besides, that was not the true meaning for the holidays!” (As a child, I got sick and tired of that “excuse”.)

One year (when I was 11) I was so happy and excited during the holidays. Was it because there was world peace? No. Was it because there was less hunger in Africa? No. Or even perhaps there was a cure for a terrible disease? Not even that. It was because I saw “TWO” gifts fo...

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Talking to a co-worker at the hospital, I noticed a perplexed Hispanic woman who was obviously lost. We rushed to the woman and stated “Can we help you?” However, the woman, who was out of breath, could only speak to us in Spanish. Neither my co-worker nor I could speak any Spanish; however, somehow my friend asked, “You need to go to the Eye Center?” and the woman nodded yes.

We were so happy. We thought we had communicated with the woman in distress. (In reality, we should have known that the Hispanic woman could not have understood “You need to go to the Eye Center” as it was obvious to us from the beginning that she could not communicate in English.) I volunteered to take her to the Eye Clinic, located about 200 yards away on a different level.

As we were walking to the Eye Center, the woman was trying vehemently to tell me something. I thought she was trying to thank me for helping her; however, as we got into the elevator I quickly knew tha...

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There is a famous saying: “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” At times, human beings are not satisfied with what they “have.” People seem to do well until, unfortunately, they experience a loss. Then, usually, they want to be “better”--to experience the “green grass.” It’s human nature--to always want to be “better,” to “have more.” Isn’t that what is meant by the phrase “dream big”? At times, dreaming big might be great; however, at other times one should be thankful for what one has.

Consider the story of the 85 year old grandmother taking her 5 year old grandson, Johnny, to the beach for the first time. She was so excited. She bought Johnny a brand new complete outfit for his first time at the beach: new cap, new swimsuit, new t-shirt, new shoes and a new sand bucket with a shovel.

They walked to the beach holding hands. As they got to the sand, Johnny said, “Grandma, because I can’t swim I won’t go near the water; so I’ll just dig ...

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Nobody wanted to be there, not even one person. However, they were all there, and in a strange way, glad that they were.

It was the waiting room of the Neuro Trauma Intensive Care Unit (NTICU) at Memorial Hermann Hospital, one of only two "Level OneTrauma Hospitals" in Houston, Texas. When a person is critically injured, when one's life is hanging in the balance due to some traumatic event, the family should always attempt to see to it that its injured loved one goes to a "Level One Trauma Unit", if that is possible.

The families in the waiting room of the NTICU almost always appear to be petrified as they know that at any moment a physician might enter the unit and tell them, "I am very sorry. We tried everything possible, however...".

The first few days, as a rule, the families keep to themselves. However, as time passes by, the families usually get to know each other. Further, as a group, they share the joy when there is good news for a family and they also s...

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"I love my job!"  Rather I should say, "I love my jobs."

I am a Social Worker at Memorial Hermann Hospital, working with
families in the Neuro Trauma Intensive Care Unit (NTICU). I also work as a motivational speaker and lecturer, as well as writing inspirational stories for publication in books and on the Internet. I enjoy and love everything I do.

If someone would have told me over 20 years ago that I would have made that statement, I would have laughed. I thought, and knew, that I was going to be an Orthopedic Surgeon.  I was making high grades in college at the University of Texas. However, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time in February of 1981.

I was studying with my girlfriend, Sharon, for an Organic Chemistry
exam that I was supposed to take the following evening.  However, Sharon stated that it was getting quite late and she had to go back to her dormitory. 

Being a ...

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