Here I am on the verge of being a senior for the third time and what do I do? I take a well deserved vacation in the halls of Tripler Army Medical Center.
OK, technically this is not a vacation. I go to work every day. I write notes. I see a patient or two. I do see crazy people. I am also in Hawaii. I have been here for almost 4 weeks and it it has been fun. We have gone to the Polynesian Cultural Center, visited the Temple, walked to a waterfall, gone to the beach, spent a lot of money on souvenirs, and even tried poi. Ah!
Well, now I want to go home. Homesickness is part and parsel of life in the military. I am tired of sleeping in a hotel bed. I am sick of lean cuisine frozen entrees. Even though Emily and the kids are here I still want to be home. It wouldn't be so bad, except that I was at Fort Bragg before this. My bed is calling me, and I want to go home.
By Sam Grindstaff
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Our Family in Hawai'i
This is our little trip to Oahu Hawai'i. The following pictures are from Waikiki Beach and the Pali Lookout. The one of Sam is of him rescueing Charlottes hat which resulted in a 2 inch laceration on his heel. 
Monday, May 7, 2007
Everything is Realitive
Each of us has the perception of what life is. To some life is a battle to overcome challenges. For others life is full of pain and sorrow. Still others have in their hearts blackness. Perspective in itself is a self centered action that leads us to how we perceive the world around us. Everyone sees something different, and even those that see the same object will describe it differently.
Einstein made great discoveries in the world of physics by looking at things from different perspectives. He put himself on the wave of light. He put himself into different situations and then he took the two different perspectives and turned them into one reality. The question of who is moving, is it me or is it you, is based on perspective. In this way we each have our own reality. Each of us has a piece of the puzzle that is unique to our own situation, but nobody (in this life anyway) can see all the different perspectives and merge them into a single reality, which is the world as it really is.
I look at people differently now then I did a year ago. I look into the faces of strangers on the street and I notice the look of pain in their eyes. I see the little limp. I notice that the man in the elevator next to me has lateral collateral ligament instability just by watching the way he walks. I see the face of a child with puffy eyes and a runny nose and instantly think of mast cells degranulating due to antigens from the pollens in the air binding the IgE on their surfaces. My reality has changed due to what I have learned.
Each of us each day lives constantly in our own reality. Our perspectives change through our experiences. Sometimes we wish we could undo our past transgressions. A good old fashioned do over would be nice every once in a while. But these experiences are the very things that make us who we are. They sculpted us. We avoid tragedy by remembering our past failings, and sometimes we dig a pit and sit in it. In the pit our perspective is a narrowed.
I pray that we climb out of our pits of despair and stand tall with our mistakes and misgivings and all. Only by accepting defeat and moving on can we gain the greater victory. If you need help I will lend you a hand. After all I should be able to help, at least from my perspective.
Samuel Grindstaff
Einstein made great discoveries in the world of physics by looking at things from different perspectives. He put himself on the wave of light. He put himself into different situations and then he took the two different perspectives and turned them into one reality. The question of who is moving, is it me or is it you, is based on perspective. In this way we each have our own reality. Each of us has a piece of the puzzle that is unique to our own situation, but nobody (in this life anyway) can see all the different perspectives and merge them into a single reality, which is the world as it really is.
I look at people differently now then I did a year ago. I look into the faces of strangers on the street and I notice the look of pain in their eyes. I see the little limp. I notice that the man in the elevator next to me has lateral collateral ligament instability just by watching the way he walks. I see the face of a child with puffy eyes and a runny nose and instantly think of mast cells degranulating due to antigens from the pollens in the air binding the IgE on their surfaces. My reality has changed due to what I have learned.
Each of us each day lives constantly in our own reality. Our perspectives change through our experiences. Sometimes we wish we could undo our past transgressions. A good old fashioned do over would be nice every once in a while. But these experiences are the very things that make us who we are. They sculpted us. We avoid tragedy by remembering our past failings, and sometimes we dig a pit and sit in it. In the pit our perspective is a narrowed.
I pray that we climb out of our pits of despair and stand tall with our mistakes and misgivings and all. Only by accepting defeat and moving on can we gain the greater victory. If you need help I will lend you a hand. After all I should be able to help, at least from my perspective.
Samuel Grindstaff
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Of Mormonism
When most people first here of Mormonism thoughts of polygamy and 30 kids run through their mind, though this is not true at all. I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I neither have 3 wives or 30 kids.
Last night PBS aired a piece about the church. They explored topics such as the Temple, missionary work, gays, excommunication, and so on. I thought for a moment and wondered what others really think of us. In the end it doesn't really matter. I have faith. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I also know he wasn't a perfect man, but I do know he was a prophet. He was an instrument in the hand of God. His story, without the confirmation of the spirit, is outlandish. The power in the story is in the spirit that surrounds it.
In the final moments of the program experts kept saying that the Mormons need to move past our beginning like other religions have. Saying this as if our history is holding us back. In reality the history is what is holding us up.
Physicians work in a world of uncertainty. It is hard to speak definitively about anything. With the church and my faith I do speak in absolutes, not because I understand it all but because of my hope, my faith and the confirmation I have felt. In the woods of Palmyra New York I have prayed and felt the spirit. God the Father and His Son did come to Joseph Smith.
In the end it happened or it didn't. There really isn't any neutral ground. Just like being pregnant, either you are or your not, there isn't a middle ground. I can't prove it happened, but that doesn't change the fact that I know it did. And this is my testimony. Let it follow me to the grave.
Last night PBS aired a piece about the church. They explored topics such as the Temple, missionary work, gays, excommunication, and so on. I thought for a moment and wondered what others really think of us. In the end it doesn't really matter. I have faith. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I also know he wasn't a perfect man, but I do know he was a prophet. He was an instrument in the hand of God. His story, without the confirmation of the spirit, is outlandish. The power in the story is in the spirit that surrounds it.
In the final moments of the program experts kept saying that the Mormons need to move past our beginning like other religions have. Saying this as if our history is holding us back. In reality the history is what is holding us up.
Physicians work in a world of uncertainty. It is hard to speak definitively about anything. With the church and my faith I do speak in absolutes, not because I understand it all but because of my hope, my faith and the confirmation I have felt. In the woods of Palmyra New York I have prayed and felt the spirit. God the Father and His Son did come to Joseph Smith.
In the end it happened or it didn't. There really isn't any neutral ground. Just like being pregnant, either you are or your not, there isn't a middle ground. I can't prove it happened, but that doesn't change the fact that I know it did. And this is my testimony. Let it follow me to the grave.
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