More fever

I spoke too soon in my last entry. My oldest daughter's fever didn't break. It reconstituted itself to 101.3 degrees and whipped up a soar throat for fun.

I took her to the doctor today, and she has strep throat. This is the first time anyone in the house has had this, at least since the kids were born. At least it's treatable.

Jayne feared Elspeth had the mumps, despite her proper vaccination, because Elspeth was swollen. The gland issue (I thought I had to wait for the teen years to discuss this) is linked to the strep.

Our regular physician, Dr. Mark Stid, was on vacation, so we saw one of his partners, Dr. Russell Dykstra. The last time we saw him was about nine years ago at the birth of Elspeth.

Dr. Dykstra has a great demeanor -- actually, all the physicians at South Washington Family Medicine are fantastic, caring people -- and he looks remarkably like the Rev. Dave Persons from Hamburg, N.Y. He has the short, gray hair, beard and similar thin build. He speaks in similar, calming tones. And, I found out today, Dr. Dykstra also bike rides, as Pastor Dave does.

Leading the Way

Pastor Dave really set me on my spiritual path while I was young. He's a Presbyterian minister, but is open to any road that leads to spirtual enlightenment -- even if it's not through Christ. This has gotten him in some trouble with the deacons at Wayside Presbyterian, but has gained him my unending and sincere thanks. He introduced me to the Gita. In fact, I still have the copy he gave me for a wedding gift more than 16 years ago. He also directed me in my first steps in meditation and the expression of spirituality through art, music, dance and, yes, bicycle riding.

Pastor Dave led the bike tours I took as a high school student. I'm still unlocking all the things I learned on those weeks-long adventures. The few times I felt I touched the essence of Brahman was when I was bicycling.

This came to me because Dr. Dykstra mentioned he was a fan of my bicycle columns in The Sentinel. He said they were inspirational. Wow!

I must add that, at the end of Elspeth's examination, he asked if Elspeth had anything else to tell him. She asked if he could examine her stuffed cow she brought with her. He did, including checking the stuffed animal's heart and ears, just like he did for Elspeth.

The cow is healthy.

Thought: All glories to Sri Krishna.