Greetings from 35,000 feet!
As I write this week’s blog Harriet and I are flying back home from Tampa. I gave Grand Rounds at Moffitt Cancer Center on Friday, and had a chance to meet with a number of people, including Alan List, the relatively new CEO. Alan and I were colleagues at the AACR/ASCO Clinical Methods Workshop in Vail, Colorado for a couple of years; he is a fabulous translational researcher who has made important contributions to the field of myelodysplasia. I had a great time and was mightily impressed by Moffitt’s wonderful facilities as well. We stayed at the home of old friends Bob and Abby Gatenby. Bob is an old colleague from Philadelphia, and Abby worked with Harriet for a couple of years. And our oldest boys were at the same school for high school. So, the bonds are pretty deep.
We had a nice work-related dinner on Friday and spent Saturday touring the area. We were absolutely blown away by the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg; it is in a beautiful new building, and the collection is breathtaking. And we had one of the best guided tours ever. It was as if time was standing still, or at least warped (see photo below).
That evening we went to a restaurant that is an institution in Tampa, a steak house called Bern’s. The interior decorations can only be described as mid-nineteenth century “bordello”, but the place is over the top in every respect, including its astonishing wine list, meal choices, and unique touches such as a separate upstairs dessert bar, replete with table-specific communication devices to request musical favorites from the on-site pianist. And, the food was very good! The neighborhood was hopping because of a yearly festival known as Gasparilla. There were hordes of costumed folks milling about, many of them in pirate costumes. All in all, it was a fun evening with great friends.
The work week was busy as always. The MLK celebration at the Kennedy Center on Sunday evening was great, and we were riveted to the TV on Monday, watching the inauguration and associated festivities. The rest of the week was consumed by meetings, clinic and two work-related dinners. Thursday’s clinic was preceded by the thesis committee meeting of one of the Georgetown-NIH PhD candidates, and I had the privilege of chairing his committee. One of the very best things about moving from a freestanding cancer center to a university-based matrix cancer center has been the interaction with students. I really enjoy it. After clinic on Thursday we hustled off to the airport to get to Tampa, leaving behind frigid weather for 72 degree, sunny skies. Did I mention that we passed by at least three beautiful golf courses but I didn’t have time to take advantage of the opportunity and the beautiful weather? I’ll be dreaming about that series of lost chances for at least the next week!
Have a great week, everyone!