Born Here
The IRS now tracks social media and will tax you for things such as: you took your girl friend to Tahiti on your facebook page and you claimed you were unemployed. This ties in to me in that I can’t be in America for very long. Don’t worry, this was a very brief visit. It was jam packed with activity. I was in all five boroughs, on foot, by car, and by bicycle. David and I rode bikes and saw pretty much all the bridges to Manhattan. We rode or walked over several of them. So here we are in Astoria, Queens. 
We’re on our way to the 59th Street Bridge. Yes, yes, that 59th Street Bridge from the Simon and Garfunkel song. And, of course, we were riding randomly through Astoria. I had just seen the Astoria pool, where I swam as a youth. There! On the corner is a small and old hospital. It fit the description of my memory. I was born in this hospital! It was Astoria General renamed in 1949 by doctors who ran it. Since then it has been bought and renamed under the Mount Sinai logo. Either way it’s still a tiny hospital. What the general public doesn’t know is that it’s not very good. Well, in fact, the reviews online are not complementary. I guess it cuts both ways. What I know now is that this is a hospital I would avoid in real life given what I know as a surgeon. Not only was I born here but one of my younger brothers was born here also. The family doctor was Elias Levine. For all I know he delivered me too. Serendipitous find just before my birthday? Hey, life’s funny that way.
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