I believe in black holes. I believe that as the universe empties into nothingness, past and future will smack together in the last swirl around the drain.

What we are fighting isn't godlessness--this is the most godly country on earth. We aren't even fighting disease. Its poverty. Money for food, medicines... that helps. When we cannot cure or save a life, our patients can at least feel cared for. It should be a basic human right.

She died chasing greatness and never saw it each time it was in her hand, so she kept seeking it elsewhere, but never understood the work required to get it or to keep it.

How we treat the least of our brethren,... that's the measure of this country.

The bottom line: health care reform is about the patient, not about the physician.

She had always assumed that she would have years to sort out the meaning of life... As she bent over the child she realized that the tragedy of death had to do entirely with what was left unfulfilled.

The most important innovation in medicine to come in the next 10 years: the power of the human hand.