• Laughter: the measure of a friendship

    I believe the better the friendship the more raucous the laugher—the real belly laughs that make you think you are going to die of asphyxiation. I have a number of friends that are enjoyable to be with but I have just two or three that make me really laugh. Donna and I worked in home…

  • Out of the Blue (aka Mr. Foley)

    My story was published in Pulse: Stories from the Heart of Medicine on August 18, 2017 Out of the Blue Friday, 18 August 2017 Marianna Crane ~ As I sit in the exam room waiting for my first patient of the afternoon, the phone rings. It rings four more times before I realize that Amanda…

  • No Edit Too Mundane

    This is the week we spend our annual family vacation at the beach. While I have enjoyed the ocean and sand, I took some time to complete an assignment. One of my stories had been accepted by Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine, a digital journal. It could be published as soon as this…

  • Leaving Our Legacy

    I have been thinking for a long time about the fact that we older nurses are dying off. We will take with us our memories of nursing history. I have always loved to hear from other seasoned nurses about how they size up their nursing careers as they look back. What was important at the…

  • I HAD A DREAM

    Originally posted on Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted: ? In preparation for moving I discover the darndest things as I unpack dusty boxes stored in the attic untouched for years. This time it’s a mercury sphygmomanometer, packed in its original carton along with a “limited warranty” card that should have been filled out within ten…

  • Getting on the Bus

    This post appeared in two parts on September 8 & 20, 2013.   The first night in a hotel room in Estoril, Portugal, my heart, flipping about in my chest, jolted me awake. Thump. Thump. Thump. Silence. Then a rush of horses’ hooves clopped on my ribs. Trying to ignore my heart’s gymnastics, I tried…