Featured to the left is Daniel E. Hale, MD who exhibited his needlework art in the Community Art Gallery. His work was one of four shows that were on display this year. Also, this year, the gallery was renamed to allow opportunities for our patients, students, and employees to showcase their artistic talents.
“My most persistent memories of my mother are of her sitting on the couch, in a kitchen chair, on her bed, on the porch swing, or in the church pew with knitting needles in her hands. She believed that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” and so her hands were never idle. This legacy was passed down to her three sons, none of whom can sit still for more than five minutes. As a consequence, this trait challenges their respective spouses.
In medical school, I found I needed to do some activity that would keep my hands busy but did not require me to read. So, I asked my mother to teach me to crochet. After multiple attempts, she realize that I had no ability in that regard, so she gave me a small needlepoint kit to try. Forty years later, I am still needlepointing. Aside from the pleasure of working with glorious colors and fibers, needlepointing is a time for quiet conversation with Mom (she died in 1994). I can hear her voice “oohing and ahing” over a pretty thread or clever stitch. When the piece is finished, if she truly liked it, she would say “That would be a really nice present for …” If she did not find it particularly appealing, she would say, “That would look very nice framed and hung in your office.”
