A Whale in Lowell’s Cove: You can’t get there from here.
When I was 35 and came down with a bad case of boat fever, I treated it by buying a 16-foot skiff with a 60 HP 2-stroke Suzuki outboard. Never mind that the prop was […]
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Tornadoes and Hurricanes in Maine?
On a Maine Island, there are 3 kinds of weather; two that matter anyway. 1. You can leave. 2. You can’t leave.” Eva Murray, Matinicus Island On Peaks Island our severe weather events trend […]
Muhammad Ali and John Jenkins: the Mayor of Maine
John Jenkins and Muhammad Ali (center) The year was 1995, the 30th anniversary of the Muhammad Ali—Sonny Liston World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in Lewiston, Maine. And yes, you read that correctly, Lewiston, Maine, where Ali […]
Stash Mintz: Boxing with God
In his double-wide wheelchair, the old boxer patiently awaited the first dance. Not many big men survive into their nineties, but colon cancer, bladder cancer, and a slow growing kidney cancer had not taken Stash […]
Dr. Radis Go By Boat interview with Rob Caldwell on NewsCenter Maine
TV journalist Rob Caldwell came to Peaks Island to interview me about the story behind the stories of Go By Boat. I was particularly pleased that it was Rob; his first job in Maine was as […]
Gunshot wounds and Lightning Strikes: The Long and Winding Road to Rheumatology
A bank of gray clouds rimmed the horizon. I turned onto a long gravel driveway leading to the medical clinic in Gray, Maine, and heard a distant rumble. After 2 years of basic science classwork […]
Lobstering and rheumatoid arthritis: Why I pursued a fellowship in rheumatology
Reprinted from Helios Rheumatology: March 2021, by Dr. Chuck Radis The lobster boat tied off at the wharf. It was Ben Shipman, my rheumatoid arthritis patient, and he offered me a ride to Chebeague Island […]
It’s Immunization Day
A young man sits down at my Covid-19 immunization station at Maine Medical Center and stares resolutely ahead, focusing on the far wall. He looks nervous. I make sure the needle and syringe are outside […]
The Last Voyage of the La Vie en Rose
Stretched out on my side amidst tangled clumps of bittersweet and knotweed, my face nearly kissing the listing hull of the abandoned sailboat, I tugged on an exposed timber half-buried in the sand. My head […]
From the Mainland to Peaks Island: Broken-down Cars I have Known.
I am no stranger to misbehaving cars. When I was twenty years old and carless, I hitch-hiked from Maine to Florida to visit my older brother Steve. Most folks who pick up hitch-hikers are friendly: […]