Laughter is the best medicine

It is often said that laughter is the best medicine, yet I have never written a prescription for a funny movie, or a television comedy show, and I have no clowns or rubber chickens in my office. On the contrary, doctors are often expected to be serious and professional.

Are we practicing collaborative leadership?

Having a passion for community leadership and development is what drives Paula Jensen’s personal and professional life. She resides in her hometown of Langford, SD, population 318+.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

Our little town is the county seat, so every year at this time we host the county fair, a weekend full of prize produce, antique tractors on display, not to mention sheep, chickens, calves, and bunnies, with stick horse races for the youngsters and a big rodeo to round it out.

Without you, it would not happen

The tent goes up, the tent comes down. Somebody makes the kuchen and somebody cleans the roasters. Somebody fills the coolers. Somebody sells tickets and hands out programs and somebody checks IDs. Somebody loads and unloads the chairs and somebody scrubs the tables.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

I am considerably less clueless than I was when I arrived on the ranch seven years ago, but I grew up in the suburbs for goodness sake. Consequently, life on a ranch will probably always be rife with me doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Self-diagnosis can be wrong

“Doc, what’s this scaly rash on my arm? Do I have ringworm again?” A lot of the rashes I see in my dermatology clinic are red and scaly. In fact, what first drew me to dermatology as a profession was watching a dermatologist distinguish between seemingly similar red, scaly rashes all day.

EDITOR’S COLUMN

With Timber Lake and Isabel celebration weekends coming up we will no doubt hear visitors talking about our (their) small towns. Sometimes they have questions, suggestions, critiques, or appreciation. I for one love to listen.

Stray Thoughts: Heat

As South Dakotans, we understand heat as many in our country do not, because we are subjected to it directly and until recently could do absolutely nothing to avoid it.

Science or Magic?

Examples of accelerating scientific progress abound in human history. Mendel’s experiments with plants demonstrated inheritance in the mid-1800s.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

This summer has been hot and dry. The seeds I planted in the spring had a hard time germinating because the soil temperature went from cold to very hot so abruptly. Their struggles continued as sunny day after sunny day sucked moisture from the prairie soil until it cracked.