Dr. Larry McBride/The Memphis Connection
One leg of our journey was medical. We were close to Memphis anyway, and I wanted to get up with my old pal Dr. Larry McBride. Larry is a Toxicology expert, and was instrumental in the Mandolin Case. I wanted to pick his brain before the final revision of the manuscript. My memory for old facts is pretty good, but Larry’s is superb for anything in the toxicology realm, and I trust his recall on those events better than my own.
Larry now lives in Memphis, where all his wife’s people are from. He grew up in Texas though, and still goes by the old code- ‘A man’s word is his bond.’ He has a sign up in his kitchen- “Seek the truth, it will set you free.” In the Mandolin Case, Dr. McBride did just that, and some of his testimony was critical.
His farm is a bit like the Bomb Shelter- you can’t get there from here, and the GPS wold not track it. But it is easy to find. All you have to do is ride through the country in west Tennessee outside of Memphis till you come up on an old 50’s vintage red and rust fire truck in a hay field, and hang a right there.
Nowadays Larry leads the life of a true gentleman farmer. He suggested we tour the farm for daily inspection on the four wheelers, so we hopped on and rode through the woods. It hit me how different our lives were nowadays. In our youth, we were consultants for Physician’s Liability in regular battle with a bunch of sharp lawyers. Now Larry writes opinions on cases, but is no longer on the front lines, and neither am I. He spends his days on a New Holland tractor bush hogging. I can see how a man would have time to think out there. It was all quiet. The wind rustled through the trees, and the hawks soared on the updrafts.
Larry’s wife is involved in the western Tennessee animal rescue mission so they have a dozen or so dogs in various states of adoption. I guess Larry is more about saving old dogs than old docs these days- it might be a better cause anyway. I know one thing- his pups have hit the canine lottery- they spend their days in chase of the deer and squirrels that coexist with them on the property.
The dogs ran along behind the four-wheelers. They were Bagel, and Track and Trail, and Pride and Prejudice. One little fellow no one wanted to adopt was named Clopsie (based on Cyclops) was a permanent fixture on the farm. Poor Clopise took a liking to me right away. I know dogs can’t think in abstraction, but I guess a little dog with one brown and one blue eye could identify with me.
We sat down at the Beach, the best fishing hole on the farm, picked blackberries and muscadines, and reminisced.
“Bibey,” Larry said. “I tell you the truth, I wouldnta given a nickel for Indie’s chances. How is he?”
“Poorly, Larry. Just turned up with lung cancer. I don’t think he’ll get through the winter.”
“Dang, I’ll have to get down that way. Indie had his faults, but dishonest warn’t one of em.”
“Yep. He’d love to see you.”
“Maybe I’ll take him a bottle of muscadine wine,” Larry said.
“Oh man, you know he’d love that. You remember when he made a few bottles at the Nursing Home and they blew up?”
Larry laughed. “Yep, you can’t change Indie. You give him my best.”
“Will do, Larry. Hey let me ask you about chapter 42. Do you think the hospital lawyer ever understood the pharmacodynamics on the normeperidine?”
“Heck no, man. That boy was just like Olden, ABCDA.” (A Board Certified Dumb A^^)
“Ain’t it the truth? You know, I can still see his face when you testified.”
“And old man Watson on the jury- he got it too, I’m sure.”
“Yeah boy, them was some days, Larry. Hey, how bout some of them Farmer’s Market steaks for supper, I’m buying.”
“Sounds great, you need to get out to Memphis more often.”
“Oh, we will. We’re already planning for next fall….”
Dr. B
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Dr. Tom Bibey: Stories of the Bluegrass Music Road 
October 7, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Sounds like you had a really good visit with your friend. And, I always learn new words when I read your blog. Pharmacodynamics…that was a good one! Will I have to keep my dictionary near when I read the book?
October 7, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Ms. Cindy,
Sometimes I think us Docs use some kinda big ole word just to look smart. This was all about all about did somebody get the drug? And also if they didn’t, where did it go?
In other words, for a long time the mystery made no sense. You won’t need a dictionary- my agent has already gotten on me- he is a bird dog.
Dr. B