Amelia, Josh and Harry Potter

Bob Hatcher

December 27, 2011

          This story started a year ago when my son-in-law, Josh, read his 9 year old daughter, Amelia, about 50 pages of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  It stopped within days when it was deemed by Amelia’s mom, Carrie, and her dad that the story was just a bit too scary.  What happened was that as it turned dark and bedtime rolled around the frightening nature of some of the characters interrupted Amelia’s calm bedtime routine. The decision to stop was definitely Amelia’s parents, not hers!

          Then just over 3 months ago third grader, Amelia, known by all who know her well, as a rather tenacious, persistent, strong young girl, kept after her dad and mom to relent and let her get back into Harry Potter.  It happened and very quickly Josh had read Amelia the entire first book (several times she read several pages on her own).  Book 1 was finished in a few days. Josh had already read all the Harry Potter books and had seen the first 6 Harry Potter movies.

          And then there was book 2, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Most of book 2 was read by Josh to Amelia and parts she read herself.  It took several weeks.

          Books 3 and 4 of Harry Potter were read almost entirely by Amelia and each was completed in several weeks.

When Maggie and I arrived in Ann Arbor on Christmas day, Amelia was avidly reading the beginning of book 5. She was up to page 358 of the 5^th book 2 days later.  She will be done with this 870 page book in 2 to 3 days, I’m sure.

So now, in less than 4 months Amelia herself has read about 1500 pages of Harry Potter and reading these books has been causing her no difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep.

So what can parents of young children learn from Amelia, Josh and Carrie?

• It is amazing how focused a young girl can be. Try to talk to Amelia while she’s reading!!!
• It has been fun for Amelia because she loves the magic.  She just likes it.  Lots!
• In the course of an average month Amelia and her brother, Elijah, spend about zero (0) hours watching television. Reading seems to be more exciting for Amelia and her 7 year old brother than television is for many other children.
• Exposing a young person to magnificent adventures through reading causes joy, independence and is fun to share with one’s children.
• There is no rush either to start reading or to read specific books. There is an attitude of hurrying up in our society that extends to education and entertainment.  Let these learning experiences unfold naturally.

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH
Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia

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Bucket Lists and Dreams

November 25 and 27, 2011

One way of visualizing one’s possible futures was described marvelously by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson in the movie called Bucket List.

Lying in adjacent hospital beds these two men, both of whom were close to death, compiled lists of what each would like to have happen in the remainder of his life.  The rest of the movie is a usually hilarious and sometimes poignant description of two wonderful actors going for their dreams with enthusiasm.  If you haven’t seen this movie, definitely do rent it. 

If you are open to dreaming impossible dreams this movie may inspire you to make up a Bucket List that could keep you occupied for years.

So what is on your bucket list? What are the incredible possibilities you might want to explore.  Your list might include sights and places, people, books, courses of study, purchases, events or conversations. Your list might include things you want to shed in an effort to simplify your life.  It might include a book you want to read or even write or it could include a religion you want to study in depth.

You awakened this morning. It is without question the very first day of the rest of your life. So today might be the very day to spend an hour of reflection thinking about possibilities for your personal Bucket List. This could be an hour that will cause ripples that will go on and on through the years of your life.

I think I will do just that, myself. Today, right now, the day after Thanksgiving, as I enjoy a day in beautiful Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, I am going to address this joyful task and see what happens.  Here are the thoughts that come to my mind this day. Here is my Day-After-Thanksgiving, 2011 Bucket List:

1.   I am going to continue to see my weight plummet as I go to Weight Watchers and lose the final 11 pounds (of 35 pounds), so that I weigh a pound or so less than the weight at which I wrestled and played football and ran track at Williams College in 1955. Would this ever bring a smile to my face!

2.   I am going to read several books, listen to several tapes, and or go to several seminars so that I understand better the essence of Buddhism. In the process I will learn about mindfulness, an important concept in psychology and neuroscience today.

3.   I am going to think differently about the loss of water in the pond in front of our house and see if it can become something more beautiful.  The lake is beautiful today. But brown areas from the current shoreline to the current grass could possibly be transformed by a new acre of vibrant green grass or by some Siberian irises or by some cypresses than can thrive with wet feet.

4.   I want to revisit the novel I started to write and worked on fairly diligently several years ago, but haven’t looked at for a single minute in the past three years.

5.   I do want very much to see Monet’s pond at Giverny outside Paris

So, what is on your wish list? Where do your dreams take you this day?

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH
Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia

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To folks joining us on www.managingcontraception.com   I meet weekly with women who have been emotionally, physically and/or sexually abused. The Penn State revelations have been about boys and young men who have been abused.  But don’t think for a minute than women have escaped sexual abuse, violence and emotional trauma related to athletics on college campuses.  Here are my thoughts about

Big time athletics and predatory sexual abuse 

Bob Hatcher

November 14, 2011 

The Penn State disgrace is on our lips, but then we should also remember the John Woodens and Dean Smiths of college sports. 

This past week has been tough for those of us who truly believe that there are many, many good things young and old can learn from sports. The first part of this article is derived from one I wrote months ago.  I feel it is important to repeat these words in view of the culture of athletics on college and university campuses revolving around money, money, money and the sad events at Penn State.

John Wooden coached basketball teams. And they did very, very well.  He lived to right at 100 years of age and perhaps you are thinking:  “Just why” should I be interested in this old man’s three rules?”

Well, John Wooden wasn’t just another successful coach.  He was THE WINNER of all big time athletic winners. His success exceeded that of any other coach over the last 100 years. His basketball teams had four perfect 30-0 seasons and he was named ESPN’s greatest coach of the 20th century.

His UCLA basketball teams won 10 National Championships. You know, the tournament we are all talking about each spring called March Madness. Well, he won THAT tournament 12 times!

Here were his rules for his players:

1. Get to every meeting, practice and game on time

2. Not one swear word

3. Never criticize one of your teammates

          Almost all of John Wooden’s players graduated from college. He was known for his impeccable record of sportsmanship. He was even named California Father (and later, Grandfather) of the Year.

          If I didn’t quite win you over with those three rules for his team, let me tell you what he said was his daily rule for himself.  But first think about what daily rule would best characterize your approach to life.  Think about that for one minute and then after one minute of deep reflection read this last paragraph.

Here is what John Wooden encouraged each of us to do:

“Make each day your masterpiece.”

     Now we are hearing of the evil, selfish, sexually depraved acts of a man, Jerry Sandusky, who was twice named the best assistant football coach in the entire country.  His teams did what successful teams are supposed to do, WIN AND MAKE MONEY. The words used to describe him and Penn State coaches and administrators are strong and angry. They have dominated both sports news and national news this past week.

          You have heard the following words and phrases. They are NOT my words:

          “Predatory, child rape, an outrageous tragedy, perversion of power in college sports, the biggest story on college sports ever, negative visceral outrage and perhaps most often, unbelievable.”

          But wait there’s more!

          “It took a victim’s mother to notify the police because it was more important to protect the system, to protect the football team, than to protect the boys. It was a conspiracy of silence for 13 years. There was a psychopathic lack of concern for the effects of these sexual crimes on young boys.”

           As we hear more, and I am certain we will be hearing much more, it might be well to remember that there are high school and college coaches (and I think that this is the case for most of them) who are far more like John Wooden and Dean Smith than like  Jerry Sandusky.  

A resident of Tiger, Georgia, Robert A. Hatcher MD,

Is a professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the Emory University School of Medicine

He meets weekly with the women and staff at Fight Abuse In The Home (FAITH) in Clayton, Georgia

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Come join us!

Bob Hatcher

          There is a long narrow table (about 15 feet by 3 feet) at the new restaurant in Clayton called the UNIVERSAL JOINT.  UNIVERSAL JOINT is on North Main Street next door to the Clayton Post Office.  There are 13 seats around this covered table that is outside. You can sit at any of the outside tables and watch the world go by.

          One evening in the middle of August Maggie and I were sitting at one end of the large outdoor table with 3 to 4 other people.  One of them was Peter McIntosh, the superb photographer who also writes movie introductions that Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz read prior to classical movies shown on TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Through his photography he supports numerous charities and conservation groups.

At the other end of the table sat a woman and Peter, saw that she was alone. He called over to her with a friendly voice: “Come join us.” She did and we enjoyed learning about her in the course of the next 2 hours. 

          Little things can mean a lot. This was such a simple, thoughtful thing to do. The kind of thing that is very easy to do, takes almost no time, costs nothing, and may make someone else’s day a whole lot more fun. Thank you, Peter McIntosh! It is so easy to have a generous spirit and our county is made a better place by the generous spirit of Peter McIntosh.

          Come join us! Including someone else at a meal is something middle and high school students can do at a time in their lives when being included is so important, and being excluded is so painful.

          Come join us! Asking someone to participate in a volunteer activity is an easy way to include a new person in town in some worthwhile effort.

Come join us! If you haven’t yet been to the UNIVERSAL JOINT, do try it. The hamburgers, sandwiches, and salads are wonderful. There is a television that keeps you up on the latest football, basketball or baseball game. And if you are lucky you might get Becky or Ruth as your waitress.  They will almost certainly bring a smile to your face.  

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH
Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia

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Doubt is Helpful

Certainty is Dangerous

Bob Hatcher

November 12, 2011

 Doubt is helpful: TRUE or FALSE?

Certainty is dangerous: TRUE or FALSE?

Perhaps the best answer is that both statements can be either true or false.

We have a tendency to look suspiciously at ourselves or others who move slowly, with caution or only after checking and rechecking all the possibilities.  Doubt, one might think, is a sign of weakness or fear.

At lunch recently, one of my Rabun County heroes, Pierce Cline, came to Grapes and Beans with several handwritten thoughts and phrases he wanted us to discuss.  One was the wisdom or folly of these six words: “Doubt is helpful. Certainty is dangerous.”

Pierce decided at age 60 to climb the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine.  He did not have much doubt but that he could accomplish this remarkable objective. He planned to hike the entire 2,178 miles in sections. He would do this over a number of years.  Along the way, he would pass through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Along the way Pierce learned over and over again that he was really rich. “On the trail I have learned that everything I truly need I can carry on my back.”

Prior to climbing the Appalachian trail Piece had hiked all over the world for decades with a group of close friends.  This in part explains why he was fairly certain that in time he would be successful in accomplishing his remarkable new goal.  Just a bit of doubt crept into the picture when he needed cardiac bypass surgery several years later. That derailed him for a year, but then he returned cautiously to the trail and he accomplished his goal.

For a long while now the phrase “sometimes wrong but never in doubt” has had primarily negative connotations to me. But not always.

Perhaps, in parallel with the words in Ecclesiastes, we might suggest that there is a time for doubt and a time for putting aside one’s doubts.  There is a time for certainty and a time to make decisions slowly.

Some examples of certainty carried to dangerous and evil extremes are the lives of Adolf Hitler, Mao, Joseph Stalin, and members of “the family” in Washington. If you haven’t read the book, “The Family” I recommend it highly.

So life presents us with this very difficult challenge: while it is important to have in mind what we want to accomplish, what we believe in and what we think is right, at the same time we must always be aware of the fact that we may need to tweak our perception of what is the best course of action to follow.

Who ever, ever, ever said that life was going to be easy? 

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH
Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia

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This is my 199^th column in the Clayton Tribune and I am often asked what process I use to get one column done each week. There are many answers to this question, of course. Sometimes it is easy and at other times it is a royal pain!  A major struggle! I do tend to have the kernel of an idea or the first sentence of several columns written down at all times so usually when I sit down to write I have something to start with.

First, I would say that the need to get some thoughts down on a page opens up my eyes to so many new experiences, people, books and dreams.  I am constantly looking for interesting, beautiful, humorous, or instructive quotes, places or people. My eyes and ears remain ever hopeful and expectant! And, of course, I am never disappointed because people are lumpy with talent, places are beautiful and groups accomplish remarkable miracles.

Writing a weekly column is actually quite easy after hearing some speakers.

For example, I heard Dr. Bill Foege (pronounced FAY -gee) speak at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta early this month.  Foege is often said to be THE person most responsible for the global elimination of small pox.  He is a giant of a man in public health and a giant of a man in terms of his physical stature – he stands 6 feet and 7 inches tall! He spoke about one vaccination program in Africa. It was at a time when there were about 2,000 communities throughout Africa where there was a smallpox outbreak.  It was a rural village in Nigeria.

It was hoped that many people would come in to get the smallpox vaccine but experience in other villages and with other important public health interventions had taught Bill that people often fail to respond to some of the most important public health programs. He spoke to the leader of the village at length and the village leader made comments in a language Bill did not understand to his fellow villagers who would then leave the meeting to get the word out.  One saw people joyfully running about and heard the beat of drums and saw expressions of excitement as Bill and the chief’s meeting continued and as the word got out.  Then the people began to arrive for their vaccinations.  The people came, and more came and then more came and it was a far more successful day of smallpox vaccinations than Bill had ever experienced.  As the vaccinations were coming to an end Dr. Foege asked the chief what on earth had been said to his fellow villagers and to people from neighboring villages to engender such a positive response. The chief said:  “I told them to come get their vaccinations and to see the tallest man in the world!”

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH
Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia

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Life is not for the faint of heart

Bob Hatcher

September 29, 2011

                No one ever said life would be easy but for some it is definitely easier than for others. I am constantly counting my blessing.  My gratitude list goes on and on and on. But I certainly do see the pain and suffering of those about me.

Life is so full of twists and turns that one has only to keep his or her eyes open and the pain of life is right there before us.  A missionary, Frank Laubach, once said “Forgive me God for looking at the world with dry eyes.”  So if you don’t see the pain and suffering in your midst, look around you or read a newspaper a bit more carefully. 

Search for Somalia, Syria or Libya on Google and try to let yourself feel peoples’ hunger, pain, loneliness, hopelessness, fear and desperation. 

Ask Caroline White what abuse brought women to her amazing program, Fight Abuse In The Home or FAITH. You will cry.

Ask Steve Hall at St. James church about the people he is helping with his discretionary fund. Ask your minister who is sick and who is dying in your church community.  There are many who are in pain or are living with little hope who reside right here in Rabun County just as surely as they are found in the “trouble spots” of the world. 

Think about the person who has been sitting on death row for several years or even several decades for a crime he or she simply did not commit and if you don’t think this is a possibility, read John Grisham’s book, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. Don’t for a minute think that this is an isolated case.  Hundreds have been released from death row thanks to DNA tests. Others have been released from death row due to evidence that prosecutors had willfully manipulated evidence.

Life does throw us some pitches that are virtually impossible to hit. Life is not for the faint of heart.

So what next after you are in a pool of discontent and sorrow at man’s inhumanity to man, at the health problems you or a loved one about you is challenged with or at the failure of our elected officials at all levels of government to work constructively toward the solutions to problems facing our society .

Sometimes the answers elude us completely.  Sometimes there is no answer.

I know what I have done when feeling the pain, feeling stressed to the max, afraid, uncertain as what the next right step is or feeling lonely.  I just know from experience what will help me the most.  I try to figure out whom I might reach out to with love.  For me this is the very best source of healing.

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH
Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine

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My heroes and sheroes

September 27, 2011

                Public health interventions are often controversial and family planning over the years has faced a veritable minefield of extraordinarily contentious issues. Fitzhugh Mullan of the George Washington University School of Public Health, suggests that behaviors exemplified by the philosophies and actions of the dreamer, Don Quixote, the cunning strategist, Machiavelli, and Robin Hood, who took from the rich in order to give to the poor, have played an important role in 20^th century public health. People like Don Quixote, Machiavelli and Robin Hood have contributed to the fields of contraception, family planning and reproductive health, for sure.

                Don Quixote-like dreams are the dreams of determined idealists. Margaret Sanger was such a person. She dared to dream that women could actually vote intelligently and go to birth control clinics for confidential, dignified, safe and effective contraceptive services. It was she and her friends who coined the term “birth control” in 1914 and some 40 years later it was she and other friends who found the funds to do the research that led to birth control pills.

                Leading gynecologists such as John Rock and John Irving at Harvard and Alan Guttmacher and Irv Cushner in Baltimore did the research and established the programs that led to voluntary contraceptive and sterilization services in Boston, Baltimore and then the rest of our country.

                Luella Klein, the first woman to be president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (and a professor of those subjects at Emory) was a quiet dreamer who influenced legislation on contraception in Georgia and nationally using her conciliatory, dignified, and evidence-based, approach to legislators.

                Gary Stewart was a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi, author of Contraceptive Technology and developer of a remarkable Gold Star Program in Egypt that led to higher quality services.

                No one in the past 4 decades was a better advocate for women’s unique health care needs than Dr. Felicia Stewart. Prudent was one of her favorite words. She was a brilliant teacher, writer and clinician with a sense of humor that never let her or others around her down.

                Machiavelli-like cunning and politically savvy strategies have also contributed immensely to family planning efforts. Margaret Sanger once promised the mayor of Boston that she would not say a word if he would allow her to sit on the stage during an important public discussion of controversial contraceptive issues. He relented. She appeared on the dais with her mouth covered by a huge piece of duct tape. The muzzling of Margaret Sanger stole the show and was prominently featured in the New York Times coverage of the event.

                Alan Barnes at Hopkins saw many unmarried women wanting birth control pills. Marriage was required at that time in Maryland for a woman to be prescribed birth control pills. “Do you ever plan to marry?” he would ask college students.  They would reply “Of course, some day.” “Good” he would say with a twinkle in his eyes, “we will call this a premarital visit and you can have birth control pills”        Robin Hood-like redistribution of resources from wealthier and healthier sectors of the society to those less advantaged and less healthy is what public health is all about.  Title X, Medicaid and in many cases Medicare are all examples of this.  So are food distribution programs, many health insurance policies. Foundations and churches are other examples of modern day Robin Hood-like efforts to improve the health of the less advantaged citizens of our nation.

                Mullan concludes that all 3 personae, are important in public health and that, of the three, the initiatives most threatened now are the Robin Hood efforts. Our society is struggling mightily with this question: “How much should the wealthier and healthier be doing to assist the nation’s economically disadvantaged and less healthy citizens?”

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH
Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA

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Let’s get serious about our habits

Bob Hatcher

                Getting serious about our habits is important.  And usually when a person has success it has been an inside job.

                Think about your habits.  Some are good leading to joy, self-respect, and happiness or to becoming a healthier person. Celebrate those habits.  Reach back and pat yourself on the back occasionally for your good habits. Don’t take them for granted for a minute. Try to figure out how you came to have your good habits and consider thanking a person who may have influenced to develop a habit that you are particularly pleased with.

                Always be asking yourself if there are other good habits you want to have become a part of your pattern of living. You definitely can learn new tricks.

                Here are some really good habits: regular exercise, avoiding too much salt and too many sweets, expressing love and gratitude, hugs, living in the now, reading good books, doing crossword puzzles, learning a new language, buckling up before turning on the ignition and recycling. One friend told me that a good habit she likes is “walking for an hour every weekday morning from 8 to 9 with a neighbor whose husband is undergoing cancer treatment.”

                Every single one of us also has bad habits as well – habits leading to embarrassment, poor health, financial loss, or shame.  Bad habits may be repeated infrequently or over and over again. And as a bad habit becomes ingrained into a person’s pattern of living it becomes very difficult to discard.

                Some particularly bad habits are driving while drunk, text messaging while driving, cheating on exams, throwing trash out of the car window, overeating, smoking or consistently arriving late.  Procrastination is a bad habit shared by many of us as we exaggerate how difficult a task will be (only to find it easier than expected to complete if we would just get on with it).   

                A friend has recently lost lots of weight after years of trying with little success. Oh, she would lose weight, but then she would backslide and very quickly the weight would reappear.  The unwanted fat would be back. The unhappy feelings would resurface. She said that the phrase “let’s get serious” helped her greatly over the past year or so. She decided that she would really have to get serious about losing weight and she did. 

                To change a really bad habit that has been repeated hundreds or thousands of times is hard work. Changing habits is hard work.  Say these words 100 times.  Changing habits is hard work.  And after 100 times you will probably need to say it 100 more times to fully understand the nature of the task ahead of you. When change does happen it is usually the result of an inside job. In some instances when it does happen, it is almost a miracle. 

Certainly do not count very much on your doctor to make help you change your habit for with some magic drug or written pamphlet. Whereas physicians should be empathetic helpful, and supportive of their patients efforts to eliminate harmful habits, more often than not they are impatient, frustrated, unsympathetic, judgmental or even angry. 

If we need to change a habit that is causing us harm, most of the time this effort is going to have to be an inside job.

Robert A. Hatcher MD, MPH
Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia

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