President's Column

My Perspective: February 2013

2013 is here! I’ve always been mystified by the notion of an unlucky “13.” Even Wikipedia doesn’t have a solid answer as to its origins. But indeed it’s pervasive in our culture, and even the hospital where I perform surgery has over 20 operating rooms but none labeled 13. Interestingly, in other countries like Italy and China, 13 is considered a lucky number. Numerous successful sports figures have worn the number 13 and had good seasons while doing so. In the end, I’m not a big believer in luck anyway, but rather in the concept of making your own luck through hard work and effort.
In this first edition of the 2013 newsletter, I’d like to share a list of some of the things the King William Association Board of Directors and staff have been addressing. I chose 7 to highlight just because it’s lucky!

My Perspective: December 2012

There are many things I enjoy about our neighborhood, but one of my favorites is the abundance of nature and wildlife that surround us in this urban environment. "A river runs through it" is not only a famous novella and movie, but a simple fact of life in King William. The river is the habitat necessary to maintain the diversity of birds and wildlife around us, and SARA is doing a fabulous job at ecosystem restoration along the Mission Reach.

My Perspective: October 2012

My view of the King William Association and our community has been shaped by my experiences as surely as yours has. I arrived in San Antonio in 1992 when I began training to be a surgeon at Wilford Hall Medical Center for the USAF. All new officers are sponsored by a local family to welcome them. My sponsors were Warren and Gina Dorlac, who invited me to dinner at their old house on Adams Street. I was enchanted by the neighborhood because it reminded me of the place I had just left behind.

My Perspective: November 2012

In my initial column I introduced myself and described why I got involved in the King William Association and encouraged you to join us. In this column, I am asking you to consider doing even more than just joining the KWA. We need active, engaged and energetic members to do the work of this organization. We’re looking for you!

President's Column: September 2012

I have a favorite country and western song that goes by the title of “How can I miss you (if you won’t go away?).”

Well, here I am again after my supposed farewell column in the August newsletter. Our loyal newsletter staff informs me that owing to the editorial calendar, which requires me to submit the text for the September newsletter no later than August 15, I still have plenty of time to contribute one more column. At the end of this column you will see the number -30-. The explanation for that, in case you missed out on the era of green eye-shade journalism, is that it is traditional for columnists to exit the scene with this number as a sign-off at the end of their final opus. Journalists are divided on the origin of this practice, since most articles in the days of letterpress journalism were ended with this number. The origin is thought to have been from the first telegraphed dispatches which always ended with -30-, which is Morse code for “the end” or “finished.”

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