Work, Surf & Turf

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Usually at this time of year, when the leaves turn color and the temperature drops, I start waxing romantically about autumn. It’s my favorite time of year, even in LA, where I actually saw a leaf fall from a tree last weekend. Some call fall “the year’s loveliest smile.”
Autumn is when we all get back in the saddle after the lazy days of summer. We stay as busy as bees, doing what we do best. But is also a great time to stop, take a deep breath, and feel the cool, crisp air that fills the shorter days. It is a time to pile on the clothing, watch football, and be mesmerized by fireplace fires and warm, cozy blankets (a hot toddy helps). There’s something about this season, even amidst the hustle and bustle of daily living, that quietly speaks to karmic balance.

Surfs Up

I plan to take full advantage of this “balance” idea this month at our annual fertility meeting, located in the delectably warm and laid-back city of Honolulu. Close to 10,000 fertility clinicians from the world over will descend on this island paradise to mix and mingle and to be sprinkled with knowledge and wisdom about our fast-evolving field.
Of course, I have Presidential duties to attend to with the Society of Male Reproduction and Urology. It has been a busy year, as male fertility specialists become increasingly comfortable with the notion that we provide the best “medical home” for reproductive age men. And I look forward to catching up with colleagues and hearing visions of where our field is headed. There should also be more academic light shed on the issues of how overall health impacts fertility, how endocrine disruptors actually disrupt, and how much of a “disease” male infertility really is.
But there will also be the beck and call of the warm, Hawaiian seas. The waters of Waikiki, filled with graceful lines of enchanting waves, will need taming by my longboard once again.  Yes, at dawn and at dusk, you will find me paddling out and tending some pretty important and soulful “board meetings” at Waikiki. Feel free to join me, as this will be one committee assignment you will never regret.
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