I joke, but only half joke, that if you show up in an American hospital missing a finger, no one will believe you until they get a CAT scan, MRI and orthopedic consult.

I'm the first to admit that the resolution of a hand feeling the belly doesn't compare with the resolution of a CAT scan scanning the belly, but only my hand can say that it hurts at this spot and not at this spot. Only my hand can say that.

You can't show up at the bedside and then turn on your skills. You have to keep your game sharp all the time.

My deceased patients have taught me over the years to believe in the glass half full, to make good use of the time we have, to be generous - that was their lesson for the Uber-mind, and it was free. 'Do that,' they said, 'and then perhaps death shall have no dominion.'

My advice for writers is to get a good day job. It takes the pressure off writing if you have a job that pays the bills.

When you have a natural genetic tan developed over centuries and many generations, the idea of soaking up rays by the pool has never made sense.