Bat-Randy and Sammy-Dog: the caped duo crusading as something-or-another that’s difficult to describe in words….

Let’s add a bit of absurdity into your life, something as irreverent as it is irrelevant and having nothing to do with ENT or medicine.  This nonsensical--if not wholly unprofessional—rambling is a diversion so to speak, suggesting that once in a while we all should step aside and not take ourselves too seriously.  Doctors are prone to over-seriousness as a nature of our jobs, of the things we’ve experienced on a frequent basis, of disease and death, of things tending not to lend themselves readily to lightheartedness; and yet it’s all based upon one’s perspective, I suppose.  When in the midst of such things as snot and saliva and ear wax, you can imagine how ENT doctors may develop disturbingly warped fancies and odd senses of humor, perhaps as a compensatory means to deal with all that nasty stuff.  Sadly, I’m no exception.  And since Batman was my all-time favorite action-hero as a kid and Sammy is my dog, I came up with this cartoon in a half-dazed state as me and dog were dozing off on the couch, and by the life of me I can’t recall whether I had a beer or two before.  Most super-heroes have a side-kick, and since no one I know would accept the position the dog was it.  Fortunately by nature he’s not a complainer.  Anyway, above is my version of a comic-book character (I was not presumptive to entitle it “hero”).  Obviously the title “Dog” is redundant, but to bestow another name such as “Robin”—being the name of a bird--onto my poor dog not only would confuse him, but would’ve triggered a terrible fit of non-stop barking, having barked endlessly at birds in the past whenever they’ve pestered him from a nearby tree (or squirrels for that matter—he hates squirrels--but that’s another story).  To spare his delicate vocal cords, Sammy-Dog was the anointed name. 

And yet there’s another reason for this random diversion, an omen of things to come--of the value of exercise and running barefoot.  More to come…

©Randall S. Fong, M.D. 

www.randallfong.com