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I remember the day, driving home from my first ski trip ever in
Colorado in
the 60's.
I was at the U of Chicago School of Medicine and in my 3rd
year. I
finally got my first car, a 1964 Pontiac Tempest Lemans. It had only 4
cylinders but it was my beauty. The engine was so weak that my medical
school buddies and I had to push it over Loveland Pass.
On the way back
to
Chicago, outside of Omaha, the car started to really lose it. No power,
like
it was firing only on 2 cylinders.
I stopped at a local gas station and
asked the mechanic for help. Remember, my Dad was an auto mechanic and
I was
not particularly naive about cars having gone to work in the station
since I
was 6 years old.
The mechanic told me the engine was blown; he would
give me
$50 for the car. I had spent $800 for the car and I could not believe
the
engine was blown based on what I saw him do. I was slightly empowered
so to
speak. I thanked him and puttered off into Omaha.
My buddies and I
found a
Pontiac dealer, left the car in front of the place with the keys and a
note
slipped under the door. We found some cheap hotel and spent a restless
night
trying to figure out how to get back to Med school in time, especially
with
our funds exhausted.
The next morning, we all went down to the Pontiac
place
and with great concern inquired about the car. We were directed to the
mechanic in the service department. He looked grim. However, he said
"Your
car is fixed; here is the bill."
I did not know how to react. The car
was
fixed, but now how could I pay him?
I reluctantly looked at the bill.
My
heart sighed: $1.98. I almost started laughing out loud. What was
wrong?
Just a distributor wire came off one of the spark plugs, that's all.
The point of this long but true story is that not everyone that seems
to be
an expert and is so decisive in telling you what to do, is an expert or
cares about your best interests.
Dr. Stum is an oncologist and the Clinical Director of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute in Los Angeles.
[Images are for illustration only and do not represent those involved.]
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