mr. housen asked? up in alpine, the doctor said. well, heck, said mrs. housen. then she pointed to mr. housen's genitals, will it still work, she asked? [laughter] yes, ma'am, the doctor said. don't let him fool ya, it'll work. [laughter] all right then, she said. then the doctor kissed them both on the top of the head, and we stepped out. [laughter] so that was a really lovely place to train with a doc who just cared so much about his patients out of west texas. you know, out there we also cared for a lot of folks who didn't have regular access to primary care. is some of the stories that came out of that experience are, you know, a little bit more difficult. but i wanted to start off with something light. okay. and then i guess this story is more from the heart of the book. so i went to medical school in south texas on an island called galveston island, and the year before i started med school my island was hit by a hurricane. hurricane ike. it devastated the town, and in the aftermath of hurricane ike the hospital, which had historically been a cherry hospital that -- charity hospita