BLOG: The End of August
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“I can’t believe it is the end of August!” one of our fellows said as we were getting ready to start the afternoon clinic, commenting on how time flies.
Shortly thereafter, one of our nurse practitioners wanted to discuss a patient with a complex case of diabetes and complications. As we were discussing the patient’s case, I asked, “Why is she coming so soon? I have just seen her recently.” And by “recently” I was thinking a couple of weeks or so.
“Oh, no, she is coming for her routine quarterly clinic visit. You saw her in early June,” she added.
I was shocked!
And I said, “When you get old(er), you start hating time and clocks and watches. Time begins to run faster and faster. And as the days and months pass by, you feel you are getting older and older!”
So, back to the “End of August.”
A lot of people think about late August as the end of summer’s good times: vacations, travels, fun gatherings. Stories have been written and songs have been sung about summertime. Folks from my generation will remember “Summer Nights” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John from the movie Grease and “Our Last Summer” by ABBA.
The End of August is a famous song by Yanni. You can listen to it here.
As some of my readers know, I am a big fan of Yanni. I have written multiple posts about Yanni in this blog, including the inaugural post in November 2016.
The musical flow of this song is so amusing, so soothing and so comforting, at least in my opinion. I realize that musical taste is individual, and different people like different types and genres of music.
I am not picky, and I do enjoy any good musical piece or song. Maybe I am old school, still, reminiscing on the songs of legendary pop music bands from the 70s and 80s like ABBA and the Bee Gees. Perhaps there are also generational gaps when it comes to musical tastes and preferences. But to be honest, and while I don’t deny the great talents of more recent singers and musicians of various genres, there may have been certain things that were very specific about the 70s and 80s when it comes to music that have disappeared forever.
For example, legendary bands at the level of the Swedish ABBA and the British/Australian Bee Gees no longer exist, in my opinion. There is something special to those performances. Interestingly, these two bands had special cultural/entertainment stories that enhanced spread their fame at a global level. For example, the members of ABBA were two married couples, and the band’s abbreviation represented their first names. The Bee Gees were three brothers, and the name “Bee Gees” stands for the “brothers Gibb.” Further, songs from the two bands made it to famous movies, “Mamma Mia” and “Saturday Night Fever,” respectively.
Interestingly, from the medical perspective, the rhythm of the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive” was somehow introjected into the act of CPR.
It is true I am an old schooler, but I also appreciate modern musical talents of various genres, though I am not a particular fan of any performer. But my story with Yanni’s music was so peculiar and so memorable, as I detailed in the inaugural blog above, when I came across his music more than 20 years ago:
“I heard of Yanni in 2002 while I was doing a locum at Tawam Hospital in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. The work was quite busy, because all other endocrinologists were on vacation, so I had to see their patients in clinic and in the hospital. At that time, I was completing the analysis and writing the manuscript of a large study we had done on gestational diabetes at King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. So after work, I would spend the time in the hospital residence working on the study. When I needed a break, I would take the bus to downtown and spend some time in its cozy mall. That’s when I spotted a CD of Yanni’s. I had never heard of him prior. I bought the CD, went home and put it in my laptop while working on the study. Since that day, I got hooked on his great sound — soothing and international”.
I feel that Yanni’s song “The End of August” takes me on a surreal journey, back in time, to many beautiful summer times from the past.
But at the same time, I feel sad, that the end of August, is another reminder that time is running fast!
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