Goodbye

“Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.” –Talmud

Until I was 16 I refused to eat in any fast food joint. When I imagined what went on behind the scenes at a McDonalds or Burger King I wretched. Teenage slimeballs serving floor burgers covered in dirt and spit and having post-shift sex on the serving counter and who knows where else. Leftover fries laying out all night, getting shat on by rats and served the next day. I was convinced the fast food industry was the devil’s earthly foothold and all its workers his demon spawn.

Then one high school summer I got a job at Wendy’s, and my harsh view of the industry softened. The folks I worked with were fine, decent human beings, and the conditions were the best I’d seen- hardly any rats. We even made fresh salads every few weeks or so. I remain a loyal and loving Wendy’s customer to this day. McDevil’s still sucks.

As opposed to my erroneous denigration of fast food workers, doctors had always occupied the position of superheroes in my mind. Whenever my dad’s emergency beeper went off I imagined the Power Rangers getting an urgent page from Alpha 5, their neurotic yet well-meaning and lovable robot assistant who monitored the world for monster attacks alongside his master, a supposedly wise wizard who at some point had gotten his head stuck inside a giant glass tube.

My dad, always a huge goofball around me and my sister, would suddenly morph into an intense, BS-free machine and answer the call with a booming, “Dr. Levin here, what’s the situation?” before speeding off in his Beemermobile to save the world. Before I started med school I prepared to relinquish my long held image of the super-doc. Just as I realized my fellow fast food workers weren’t ghouls but people, I was resigned to the reality that I and my future-doctor classmates were simply flawed humans― after all, we had all been members of that most decidedly non glamorous group― the Pre Meds.

Humans yes, but also superheroes more epicly awesome than any fantasy character. I leave this place secure with the knowledge that soon― very soon― you will fan out across the landscape like ninjas in the night, using your powers to fight the invisible evils that haunt our dreams and ceaselessly stalk all whom we love. Dark forces of anger, greed, and cynicism threaten to capture even the most idealistic among us, but their illusory spell breaks before those united in fellowship.

May the Force be with you. Always.