Friday, August 24, 2007
Apollo 13
In some ways, Wesley's birth could not be a more ordinary thing.
Millions of children are born every day, and this was after all, our
third. For the doctors and nurses at the hospital, this is every day
stuff. They see it just as I see the stack of bananas each day, and
though there is more to this, I can't help but think it must become
ordinary. If a doctor felt with each newborn they welcome the way a
parent felt, I may ask for a competent doctor who was not so
emotionally crippled by the circumstances.
In the film Apollo 13, the astronauts are asked about the "routine" nature of flying to the moon. It had been done already, and the public had already moved on
from it.
When I watch the news, I see some big stories. A big
part of my home state is underwater due to abnormally high rainfall.
One of the NFL's biggest stars is pleading guilty for gambling and dog
fighting. The president of the United States continues to plummet in
the estimation of the country, as his second and final term draw ever
near to a close. And then there are the dozens of piranhas whose world is filled with the insatiable desire to fill the Oval Office chair with their inauthentic behinds.
But as this young man enters the world, there was no greater headline for
Stephanie and I, as well as our families on that day. Stephanie and I
were grateful for our hospital. In their ordinary work, these doctors
and nurses struck a unique balance between concern and respect. They
needed to ask the same somewhat obvious questions, but they did so with
a respect for our intelligence. The unobtrusive Minnesota element really seemed to shine through at the U of M hospital, and I found an exemplification of the intangible thing which gives this part of the country its character.
Wesley is eating well, and is mother is recovering. It is a momentous time. And it reminds me that I should never be too terribly
caught up in what the world sees as significant or valuable. For there
was no bigger story for me on the night of August 21 than the arrival
of Wesley Tov Bascom.
Millions of children are born every day, and this was after all, our
third. For the doctors and nurses at the hospital, this is every day
stuff. They see it just as I see the stack of bananas each day, and
though there is more to this, I can't help but think it must become
ordinary. If a doctor felt with each newborn they welcome the way a
parent felt, I may ask for a competent doctor who was not so
emotionally crippled by the circumstances.
In the film Apollo 13, the astronauts are asked about the "routine" nature of flying to the moon. It had been done already, and the public had already moved on
from it.
When I watch the news, I see some big stories. A big
part of my home state is underwater due to abnormally high rainfall.
One of the NFL's biggest stars is pleading guilty for gambling and dog
fighting. The president of the United States continues to plummet in
the estimation of the country, as his second and final term draw ever
near to a close. And then there are the dozens of piranhas whose world is filled with the insatiable desire to fill the Oval Office chair with their inauthentic behinds.
But as this young man enters the world, there was no greater headline for
Stephanie and I, as well as our families on that day. Stephanie and I
were grateful for our hospital. In their ordinary work, these doctors
and nurses struck a unique balance between concern and respect. They
needed to ask the same somewhat obvious questions, but they did so with
a respect for our intelligence. The unobtrusive Minnesota element really seemed to shine through at the U of M hospital, and I found an exemplification of the intangible thing which gives this part of the country its character.
Wesley is eating well, and is mother is recovering. It is a momentous time. And it reminds me that I should never be too terribly
caught up in what the world sees as significant or valuable. For there
was no bigger story for me on the night of August 21 than the arrival
of Wesley Tov Bascom.
# posted by Unknown @ 6:58 PM 
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I woke up in the hospital the morning after Dietrich was born and thought about turning on the "Today" show. And then I thought, "Why bother? They aren't going to mention Dietrich's birth, and that's the only thing that happened yesterday that matters." So, instead, I stared at my baby. Enjoy staring at yours!
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