David Cowan

Before the glow of my first blog post recedes(see 4th grade photo), and perhaps more importantly, before Bob Solomon finds some scurrilous information about me from a search of the internet, I thought that I would post my own missive to class members.
For the last 20 years I have been a family doctor, the last 17 on Bainbridge Island, a quasirural, quasisububurban community near Seattle. Family Medicine is both a great privilege and, at times, a great burden. Certainly you learn how interconnected people are in a small community. And Bainbridge is truly a beautiful place. I tell people that it may be the only rural area from which you can travel to a major league ball park on public transportation. (alas not Wrigley and the beloved Cubs). In fact, one of my few complaints about the UHigh reunion is that is does NOT coincide with any Cubs home games, no doubt engineered by misguided fans of the tainted South Side Baseball team which shall remain nameless.
Where was I before my rant... oh, yes I was writing about Bainbridge. It lacks diversity and indeed, I miss that. It does carry the dubious distinction as the first place from which Japanese Americans were taken to detention camps during WWII, and the only place on the West Coast that really decried this illegal roundup of US citizens. An important lesson...still. http://www.kuow.org/DefaultProgram.asp?ID=14818
If you're interested I thought I would share a few more links to some things that occupy my thoughts when I have time for them:
A recent article about my take on "prevention" which has focused on children and school lunch:
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/bir/news/17111326.html
A link to archived talks and events from the Dalai Lama's recent 5 day stay in Seattle focusing on teaching compassion to our children (amazing):
www.seedsofcompassion.org
And a group that organizes international volunteer experiences, including families:
www.crossculturalsolutions.org
I hope to see many of you in Chicago June 6th.
Blessings to you.