doc

I had a friend who is an MD.

The past tense is not because he has gone away permanently, but because the friendship kinda ran it's course.

He was a young, just out of residency, doc when he came to town. His wife's family had deep roots in the area. I knew her grandparents when I was a kid. Her parents went to high school with my parents in the early '30's.

Grandpa owned a sizable orchard in the area. It made him good money. I remember him kindly.

Doc took care of my mother when she was sick. He is a surgeon and while mom had surgery, he stayed on and looked after her until the end. He was a good.

He did “procedures” on Miriam a couple of times. Once was fairly major the other was a biopsy on a lump in her breast. It was nothing to worry about, it turned out.

I remember once when Lora was in nursing school. We had Doc and his family over for dinner after church. After we ate they all got into a medical discussion. Not my choice of conversation, so I invited the little girls (maybe 3 and 5) to go with me for a walk!

Any way, it was some shock to all of us when this spring the notice of their divorce was published in the paper next county over. In a way I was not surprised, in a way I was.

I spoke to the wife this week. Gave her a little hug and a few words of encouragement. She needed both. She seemed to think I knew a lot more than I do. I have no facts on what went wrong, or when it went wrong, but it did.

Divorce is ugly any time. The older we get the more complicated it gets. They had always lived quite modestly, but a few years ago they built a big wonderful house. They have always been very generous, helping a lot of needy people and causes.

Good people, both of them. As I said, I have no idea what went wrong, but my mind goes and goes.

It is all idle speculation, but the facts that I know are crushing. A marriage that I thought was solid came apart. Every one got hurt.

Darn.