REST IN PEACE RBG

Ruth Bader Ginsberg died last night after her third cancer diagnosis - most recently pancreatic cancer. She was a defender of justice and equal rights, and it is hard to imagine the Court every having someone as deeply committed to those without a voice than her.

There have been innumerable tributes to her, but I found this one particularly touching. It was written by NPR's judicial correspondent Nina Totenberg who became friends with Justice Ginsberg after many years of covering her on the Supreme Court. What a life.

While I was quite distraught at the thought of Republicans hypocrtically filling her seat before election despite denying President Obama that same privilege nine months before the election, I have now become more clear-eyed. We may lose this Supreme Court seat, but much more is at stake in the next 45 days before the election: the continuation of our democracy.

Ask yourself each morning: what have I done to turn back the tide and to preserve all that RBG and this nation stand for? There is so much work to do, and we have to start now.

One way to get involved is donating to organizations like ActBlue. I just gave them a donation today. Another thing several of our friends have done is to write postcards to voters. Writing is one thing I know how to do, and everyone loves to received mail...when the Post Office is allowed to deliver it.

Let's do all we can to pay tribute to RBG. Hopefully we'll say the country in the process!

THE END

It was an utter humiliation - the end of an era. Barca were battered 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Rory Smith called it the end, and sadly that description feels very apt.

In retrospect, we should have all seen this shameful defeat and the end of Barca's dominance on the European stage coming. In 2018, Barca were eliminated by Roma, losing 3-0. In 2019, Liverpool sent the Catalans home after winning 4-0. However, 8-2 seemed unthinkable when the two teams lined up yesterday.

Both teams started off strong, and Barca could have easily been up in the first 20 minutes. However, their chances went begging, and Bayern ruthlessly took advantage of a Barca team that looked a shell of its former self - a team that created far too many unforced errors.

The coach and his player selection and tactics played a role, and he will be gone soon enough. The players were the ones who made the mistakes though and did not respond properly. Many of them will be gone, too. However, the problems run far deeper and go to the very top - the President and the Board. It is they who have squandered the past decade, buying expensive players who were ill-suited to the Barca team. It is they who failed to unload players - albeit beloved players - before their "sell by" date. There were far too many Barca players last night on the wrong side of 30, and they were the biggest culprits in the capitulation.

The club's motto is "More than a club," but Barca are not even half the club they once were. The possession-based, pass and move, high-press style has been gone for years as the club shifted into a counterattacking style. This is explained in part by the fact that Barca's prior style is hard to maintain, especially with an aging squad. That is why the ethos of the club and its philosophy must always take primacy versus the players - no matter how beloved they are. The failure to renew the squad and unload their wages is perhaps even more sinful than the Board's profligate spending on the wrong transfers.

In the end, perhaps 8-2 is the wake-up call that the club needs because the humiliating defeats in Europe in the past two years have clearly not brought about the changes the club needs.

This time feels different though. It feels as though I have watched a loved one die a slow, painful death from a chronic disease that was preventable. Death is a part of life, but I pray there will be an afterlife for my club. 

EARLY RISER

I generally wake up at 6AM everyday so I can go out for a run before work. Today - when I woke up - I saw Cate's light on in her room. When I entered her room, I found her light on and her at work on her computer. I was dumbfounded since Cate usually sleeps in until at least 730.

Recently, Cate let us know that she wanted to switch schools next year and go to the same private school as Nicholas after passing up her acceptance there in the Spring. It turned out that many of her friends from her public elementary had decided not to go to the local public middle school. Though Cate would not provide any more rationale for her decision, I believe that the quality of her online learning experience last spring also played a role.

Fortunately, Cate was able to get in and was asked to take a math placement test to determine the best 6ht grade math class. While she was supposed to take one hour, Cate flew through the test in 28 minutes. Needless to say, after I reviewed the test she submitted, it was clear that Cate missed many of the questions. I sat down with her and spent an hour and a half going through every question. It was clear that Cate did not seem to grasp the concepts. 

Because of this, I told Cate I wanted her to spend an hour per day on the Kahn Academy "Getting Ready for 6th grade math" section. She has dutifully obliged. In fact, that is what she was working on this AM. When I asked her why she was up so early, she replied that she had soccer camp during the day and that this is the only time she could get it done. I felt quite guilty at hearing that and was upset that I was depriving her of sleep.

I told Cate that she could just do 30 minutes per day this week because she was in camp and that getting a good nights rest was very important. Cate expressed understanding and came down for breakfast an hour later - her usual eggo waffles with Nutella - and then she was off to camp.

I love my little worker bee, but I hope she can get some rest and get her math work in!

THE MEANING OF KAMALA

The literal meaning of the word "kamala" is lotus or pale red, but Kamala (Harris) means so much more. By naming her - an Indian and Black American - the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden shattered a new glass ceiling. He also inspired people of all ages from those racial groups and beyond to believe that anything is possible. This may sound like hyperbole, but I never believed that an Indian-American would be on a Presidential ticket. This is because Indian-Americans have always been viewed as exotic or foreign, no matter their achievements or roles in society.

I felt this discrimination firsthand while growing up when bullies racially abused me, teachers butchered my name time and time again, and people asked, "Where are you from? And I don't mean New York. I mean where are you really from?" However, close-mindedness lost yesterday when Joe Biden had the strength and courage to nominate one of the most qualified Vice Presidential candidates in history, who just happened to be Indian- and African-American.

Though Nicholas and Cate view themselves as more brown than white, I do not think they fully grasp what this moment means. They just see an exciting, qualified candidate who is getting her chance. Perhaps that is what progress looks like? 

Progress, excitement, opportunity. Whatever you want to call it, I'll take it. Biden-Harris 2020!

THE LONG ROAD

Today, I experienced two firsts in clinic since joining my new institution. My nurse alerted me that one of my patients had died. Later that day, I had to tell a patient and his wife that his cancer was progressing and that we had no more treatment options to slow down his cancer.

Obviously, I have dealt with these issues before, but COVID makes these experiences so much more challenging with the need to distance, the inability to talk face to face, and because it is unsafe to hug or console patients.

In such times, our words and how we deliver them become even more important. Therefore, I tried my best to listen to the concerns of these families and to express the sadness I felt at not being able to do more. 

We often congratulate ourselves for our professional victories: a new grant funded a new manuscript accepted. However, we should measure success by the quality and quantity of our patients' lives. That is why we come to work, and if we are not moving the needle on that, then everything else we do is insignificant.

As sad as today was, I will carry these feelings with me tomorrow and each day moving forward. These tragedies are a reminder of how much more we have to do. I, for one, am ready for this fight.

TASTE THE NATION

Recently, I finished a new show on Hulu called Taste the Nation hosted by the model and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi. In the show, Ms. Lakshmi travels around the country and meets with different immigrant or racial groups that have brought their unique traditions and cuisine to the country.

The show takes us to all four corners and the history behind so many mouth-watering dishes - from burritos, sausages, and Chinese and Indian food. Needless to say, the show is hunger-inducing, but the best part is realizing how our strength in this country is our diversity.

Despite this president's best efforts, he will not fail to divide us. This is because there is more that we share than that separates us. At least, I hope so.

Check out the show and be prepared to cook or get takeout after having your appetite worked up.

HAMILTON

Tonight we watched an original Hamilton cast performance on Disney Plus. We had seen a performance of the Chicago cast three years ago and own the original cast recording, but seeing this performance with Lin-Manuel Miranda and the original gang was extra special.

The musical was inspired by the biography of Hamilton by Ron Chernow and tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first Treasury Secretary. Hamilton was much more than that, however. He was an orphan who fled poverty in the West Indies and came to this country as an immigrant. He worked his way up first as an aide to then General Washington and became a key defender of the Constitution, writing the Federalist Papers. He was driven and the musical talks about how prolific a writer he was and how he "wrote like he was running out of time." He appears to have been one of the nation's original workaholics and always put excellence and strengthening the country first.

Like many ambitious men, he had his failings, including infidelity and was ensared in an affair that culminated in blackmail and secret payoffs. When the payoffs came to light, and Hamilton was accused of embezzling federal funds, he decided to come clean and tell the truth in order to save his public reputation despite the fact that it would tarnish his private and family life. This paradoxical event says a lot about Hamilton's sense of right and wrong and how he valued the truth above all.

If you've not seen Hamilton, check it out on Disney Plus. Here is a performance of the original cast for President Obama at the White House. Enjoy!