E d Sterling came to the

RMA’s April meeting to

talk about “The Central

Mass Railroad and the Wachu-

sett Dam” – a subject that, for

him, has been the focus of more

than twenty years of investiga-

tion. But there’s more to this

Bolton resident than

his fascination with

railroading. He gradu-

ated from Penn State

with a major in Soviet

Studies. He speaks

Russian, French and

German. He has a

background in infor-

mation technology and

presently has an inde-

pendent practice offer-

ing all types of IT ser-

vices to homeowners and to small businesses.

He has served on various Bolton committees

and boards, including a stint as Selectman. He

has been actively involved with the Boy

Scouts of America for more than twenty years

and recently organized and serves as Chair-

man of a BSA Venture Crew which has the

objective of developing leadership and team-

work through outdoor adventure. And – no

surprise – he has a large collection of Lionel

model trains from the 1920s and 30s.

Ed’s presentation to

our April meeting

was a follow-up to

his July, 2017, talk

about the Central

Mass Railroad. He

began with a reprise

of his earlier presen-

tation. He noted that

prior to 1870, “Your

world was limited by

your horse.” The

arrival of the railroad dramatically enlarged

the range of personal travel. Railroad con-

struction gained momentum during the 19th

century’s late decades.

The Central Mass Railroad—The Railroad That Went Under Water

A Presentation by Railroad Historian Ed Sterling

UPCOMING

MEETINGS

April Meeting Minutes Ship’s Bell Rang at 10:00 AM

V OLUME 22 ISSUE 4

APRIL 2018 Cigar Box Bulletin

RETIRED MEN’S ASSOCIATION

Let’s Get Acquainted with Arnold Barnes 4

March Anniversaries and Birthdays 7

April Anniversaries and Birthdays 8

Why Iron Supplements are Critical 9

Gaming is Fun 9

RMA Bulletin Board 10

“Sophie” 11

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Continued on Page 2

Continued on Page 3

Reporter: Robert Mainer

Reporter: Bill Beebee

R ay Atkins called the meeting to

order and asked for cell phones to

be silenced. He then asked Ray

Graunas to lead the Pledge of Allegiance

and the singing of The Star Spangled Banner

(with Ken Watson's piano accompaniment).

New Members Nick Veeder: Chuck Pross

and Tom Mead

Visitor Nick Veeder: Dan Miller was hosted

by Larry Vifquain. Dan moved to Sudbury

four years ago to be nearer to his kids. He

had relocated a lot in his career, living in nine

States as well as Brazil and working for

American commercial product companies

such as Whirlpool. Towards the end of his

career, Dan set up internships for college stu-

dents in companies where he had contacts.

C IGAR BOX BULLETIN P AGE 2

However, in eastern Massachusetts, the early lines mostly

ran north/south linking Boston to Portland to the north and

Providence and New York City to the south. The state’s

central towns lacked such links. Thus, a plan emerged to

construct a line from Boston to Northampton: The Massa-

chusetts Central Railroad. It was chartered in 1869 with a

$3 million initial capitalization.

The plan for the “Central Mass” was focused on the pas-

senger and agricultural markets and its path was laid out to

minimize construction challenges rather than to serve man-

ufacturers. For example, it didn’t serve Waltham’s busi-

ness district. Hudson was the first significant manufactur-

ing town on the chosen route. The Central Mass reached

Jefferson/Holden in 1882 but then went bankrupt. It was

reincorporated in 1883 and service to Jefferson again com-

menced in 1885.

New life was injected into the project when the Boston &

Maine leased the railroad in 1887 and provided the capital

needed for completion of the line to Northampton. At the

turn of the century, many small New England railroads

were failing. The B&M acquired and consolidated the op-

erations of a few of the faltering lines, including the Cen-

tral Mass in 1902.

Until the 1930s, medium size steam locomotives operated

on the Central Mass line. Most were “Moguls” with a 2-6-

0 wheel arrangement consisting of two small wheels on the

leading truck’s axle, six powered driving wheels on three

axles, and no trailing wheels. On the Central Mass, a Mo-

gul, accompanied by a coal tender, typically pulled a few

B&M “red” passenger coaches which sometimes preceded

several box cars.

In 1930, self-propelled “Doodlebugs” were introduced on

the Central Mass. The Doodlebug essentially was a coach

with a gasoline powered engine coupled to a generator

which supplied electricity to traction motors on the axles.

Behind the passenger compartment, a separate cubicle pro-

vided space for mail and light freight.

Beginning in 1956, the Doodlebug was replaced by the

Budd Rail Diesel Car, a coach with a stainless steel body

and powered by a pair of Detroit Diesel engines, each of

which drove an axle by means of a hydraulic torque con-

verter.

At this point in his presentation, Ed began a photo tour of

the Central Mass when it was still a viable operation. The

tour included stations, flag stops, overpasses, bridges and a

tunnel that a traveler would have seen when traveling from

Boston to Northampton. On page 9 is a 2017 map of the

Mass Central Rail Trail which shows the railroad’s route

more clearly than do earlier maps of the actual railroad:

Ed’s photos included stations that still stand today, includ-

ing the restored structure in Wayland. Also, we saw in

Wayland, near Russell’s Garden Center, a mechanical

“bump” that would rise from the street to stop vehicular

traffic when a train was approaching. Due to its unreliabil-

ity, the bump was short-lived.

In the 1890s, Boston’s growing need for clean water

prompted an exploration of possible solutions. A plan was

chosen to dam the Nashua River near Clinton to create a

reservoir (the Wachusett Reservoir) with a pipeline to Bos-

ton. This plan had serious consequences for the Central

Mass: its tracks traversed what would become the reser-

voir’s bottom. Ed’s photos showed the reservoir’s con-

struction and the rerouting of the Central Mass which in-

cluded the need for a viaduct in front of the dam and a tun-

nel near Clinton.

The Wachusett Reservoir was filled in 1908, but it alone

was insufficient to meet Boston’s growing needs. In 1926,

a tunnel was created to tap the Ware River at Colbrook. In

the 1930s, the Swift River was added to the complex. And

in 1938, construction was begun on the Quabbin Reser-

voir. Today, the combined capacity of these water reserves

exceeds 412 billion gallons – the largest in the world.

Continued on Page 6

Speaker — Continued

V OLUME 22 ISSUE 4 P AGE 3

The Cigar Box Bulletin

P. O. Box 261

Wayland, MA 01778

Board of Directors

Ray Atkins President

Chris Hammer 1st Vice President

Larry Vifquain 2nd Vice-President

Merrill Mack Treasurer

Chris Hammer Program Chairman

Bob Diefenbacher Editor of Bulletin

Board Members

Ray Atkins Bill Beebee

Mort Brond Bob Diefenbacher

Bill Ely* Karl Geiger Chris Hammer Wally Hart

Frank Lyons* Merrill Mack

Al Persson* Ron Riggert

Michael Sheff Nick Veeder

Larry Vifquain

*Past RMA Presidents

Thank You To Our

Proof Readers

Yutaka Kobayashi,

Bob Curtiss and

Stan Wulf

Published monthly by the Retired

Men’s Association of Weston,

Wayland, Sudbury and

surrounding communities.

Continued on Page 5

Travelers Paul Murphy

Karl Geiger visited the City of Utrecht in the Nether-

lands.

Gerry Brody spent a week in Puerto Rico, where his

locale was in fairly good condition except that the

beaches were bare and the palm trees had lost their

fronds to the wind.

Dick Testa has a van camper that he and Peggy travel

in and live in during the Winter. After a leisurely 3

-day trip to FL every Fall, they settle in at Sarasota

for the next three months. They arrived back in

Acton, last week, after a 3-day return trip.

Howard Kendall visited Hawaii and rented a car. He

saw good sights by driving into areas that the rental

car company had warned him to avoid.

Paul Sturgis moved around a lot while wintering in the

SE. Locating mostly in FL, he stayed in Holly-

wood, Bonita Springs and the Orlando area. In the

latter, kids and grandkids visited to see Disney

World. Leaving FL, Paul visited New Orleans and

then drove through the FL Panhandle (South of AL

and GA), before stopping in Myrtle Beach on the

way back north.

Ray Atkins thanked Members for their Meeting support:

Coffee – Bob Hyotte and Paul Sturgis

Donuts from Stop & Shop – Ross Trimby

Badges – Bill Cooper

Facilities – Mike Sheff, Jim Latimer, Ray Graunas,

Fred Jungalwala, Dick Kilbourne

Reporting the Minutes – Bill Beebee

Reporting on the Speaker – Bob Mainer

Bulletin publishing – Bob Diefenbacher

Data Base and Sound Equipment – Ron Riggert

Slide Show – Don Sherman, Bob Curtiss

Website – Ken Mattes, John McKinney, Bill Thompson,

Minutes — Continued

Help Wanted...Please contact Bob Diefenbacher at

denbrook@verizon.net if you are interested in learning

how to layout a newsletter like the RMA Bulletin. You

should be familiar with using a computer for word pro-

cessing, and even better have some experience with

page layout programs.

V OLUME 22 ISSUE 4 P AGE 4

A rnold was born in Charles-

ton, WV. After school

there, he attended the Law-

renceville School in New Jersey

and then Princeton University,

where he studied math and physics.

He also lettered in and captained

the pistol team which fired against

Annapolis and West Point, among

others.

When he graduated in 1952, he joined the Air Force that

commissioned him and sent him to MIT to study meteorol-

ogy. At MIT, Arnold realized he would eventually be tell-

ing pilots whether or not to fly so he decided to get a pri-

vate pilot’s license. He really enjoyed flying planes and

gliders.

After his stint at MIT, the Air Force sent him to England

for two and a half years where he worked in support of un-

marked U-2 surveillance planes that flew over Russia He

met some of the pilots in that unit that included Francis

Gary Powers. At the time, weather information, including

that from radar and satellites, was crude compared to today.

After his service in England, Arnold returned to MIT in

1956 and obtained a master’s degree and PhD in meteorol-

ogy. He was hired by the Air Force as a civilian and as-

signed to Hanscom Field in Bedford where he did meteoro-

logical research. At Hanscom, he and his colleagues had

access to the only U-2 plane with U.S. markings. They used

it to take high altitude photos of the clouds. They knew

they would be putting up satellites and wanted to know

what satellite pictures would look like so they made mosa-

ics of the photos. The pictures themselves helped his group

in forecasting because they could see what was happening

with storms over the oceans. It improved forecasting signif-

icantly.

As the use of satellites developed, they could see more and

make better forecasts. They started putting up more weath-

er radar in the U.S. which made forecasting even more ac-

curate. When Arnold retired he had 42 years working for

the Air Force.

Arnold and Sally met at MIT and were married in 1960.

They lived in Weston for 46 years before moving to Sud-

bury in 2007. They have three children: Dede who lives in

Sudbury and works at MITRE in Bedford; Arnold III

(“Chip”) who lives in Boulder CO and works for Ball Aer-

ospace; and Amy, who lives in NH and worked in finance

for health organizations. Arnold and Sally have 6 grand-

children.

They have enjoyed traveling in the US, Canada, Europe,

Scandinavia and Russia. After a unique career, he now is a

ham radio operator (KB1RIA) and sometimes joins fellow

operators who network on a frequency in Framingham. He

has volunteered for FISH (Friends in Service Helping) in

Weston and Sudbury, Medical Reserve Corps in Weston

and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) in

Sudbury. In earlier years, he enjoyed a hobby of silver-

smithing, making bowls, serving spoons, jewelry, etc.

In the journey from Charleston to Sudbury, Arnold had the

opportunity to do work that was as fascinating as it was

important to the advancement of forecasting.

Let’s Get Acquainted—Arnold Barnes, Jr.

Spring Fever: Four high school boys afflicted with spring fever

skipped morning classes. After lunch they report-

ed to the teacher that they had a flat tire. Much

to their relief she smiled and said, “Well, you

missed a test today so take seats apart from one

another and take out a piece of paper.” Still smil-

ing, she waited for them to sit down. Then she

said: “First Question: Which tire was flat?”

C IGAR BOX BULLETIN P AGE 5

Bob Diefenbacher, Bob Curtiss, Al Persson

Photographer - Art Phipps

ROMEO Lunch - Bob Malnati

Announcements:

Ken Mattes has taken over our late Ken Coleman's RMA

Website development and he discussed some of its new

features. Members can log on to the Site by going to

rmena.org, while the Site Administrator (Mattes) uses a

different address. The Site can display the Events Calendar

and RMAers can communicate with the Admin. When

doing so, please give your name so that he can e-mail his

answers back to you.

Volunteer Opportunity: Howard Kendall said that those

skilled at fixing household and garden equipment are invit-

ed to volunteer at the Repair Café. It will be held on May

19 from 9 - 12 AM at the Sudbury Senior Center.

Events:

Howard Kendall announced the upcoming visit to Med-

itech in Framingham. They develop software for managing

medical records. It has been rescheduled to occur at 10 AM

this May 10.

Doc Harrell said that:

1. The Boston Symphony trip is being rescheduled.

2. The Sam Adams Brewery, in Jamaica Plain, will be vis-

ited sometime in May.

3. The Pawsox Game (vs. the Durham Bulls) will be on

Thursday, this August 16.

Vital Statistics:

Gerry Brody gave the Birthdays, with the oldest RMAer

being Dave Marshall at 85 years.

Jim Latimer gave the Anniversaries, with the longest-

married being Dave Stallard and Elizabeth at 64 years.

Members Health Joe Bausk

Joe gave sad news of the passings of Peggy Angel, Carl

Smith and George Oreilly. He also noted that Mike Sheff

is recovering from knee surgery; Bill Cooper is getting

treatment from a hand injury; Bill Ladoulis is beating can-

cer and healing from a broken rib (see below).

Humor Harold Wilkinson

A farmer had a barnyard on both sides of a road. He kept

losing chickens to speeding cars. He tried various warning

signs, but none worked. Finally, he succeeded with the

following message:

Nudist Colony - Slow Down and Watch for Cute Chicks

Musical Vignette Ken Watson / Bill Ladoulis

They played "Sunrise / Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof,

with Bill doing quite well considering his broken rib.

Romeo Lunch Bob Malnati

The lunch was held at Conrads at 120 Boston Post Road

(Rt. 20) in Sudbury.

Minutes—Continued

Peggy Angelosanto (Angel) passed away on February 28, 2018. Peggy and her husband Joe Angelosanto, one of the charter members of the RMA, managed the RMA Annual dinner for many years. After Joe passed away, Peggy, with her amicable personality and artistic talent continued to

play an invaluable role in supporting the RMA’s Annual Dinner. She will be fondly remembered.

P AGE 6

Speaker:—Continued

So what happened to the Central Mass? Certainly the auto-

mobile was partly responsible for the railroad’s eventual

demise. From 1920 on, the Central Mass’s passenger vol-

ume steadily declined. To accommodate growing automo-

bile traffic, roads were improved. With improved roads,

trucks became stronger competitors for freight. The 1938

hurricane added to the Central Mass’s financial difficulties

by doing major damage in the railroad’s western stretch.

World War II gave the Central Mass’s eastern segment a

temporary boost. A large ammunition bunker was built in

Sudbury to serve the Boston Navy Yard. (The location was

chosen to be beyond the range of enemy naval guns) Facto-

ries in Clinton and Hudson were producing war materiel.

These and other war-related activities situated along the

Central Mass’s eastern section translated into financial life

support.

With war’s end, the outlook for the Central Mass became

very bleak. Because of war-time restrictions on the availa-

bility of materials and labor, rolling stock and roadbeds

were in bad shape. New interstate highways abetted the

competition from trucking. The B&M filed for bankruptcy

in 1971 and in 1976 sold what remained of the Central

Mass to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

(“MBTA”).

Nowhere along the old Central Mass right of way has the

MBTA made any effort to prevent public access. There are

no “No Trespassing” signs. Thus, even in unimproved

stretches, the right of way has been popular with hikers. In

2011, the MBTA entered into leases that will enable towns

or other entities to create “rail trails” with improved surfac-

es for hiking and biking. There also have been studies

looking into the possibility of widening the improved sur-

faces and erecting separating fences so that commuter bus-

es could be operated safely on the right of way.

Note: Space limitations made it impossible to include in

this report the photos Ed shared with us. However, many of

his photos are from public sources. If you are interested,

Google Central Mass Railroad Photos. Ed also recom-

mended a book:

THE CENTRAL MASS. by the Boston & Maine Railroad

Historical Society, Inc.

Expanded Second Edition. Brimfield, MA: Marker Press,

2008. 180 pages.

More than 200 illustrations and 16 maps. ISBN: 0-

9662736-3-X or 978-0-9662736-3-2.

A mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer are all given identical rubber balls and told to find the volume. They are given anything they want to measure it, and have all the time they need. The mathematician pulls out a measuring tape and records the circumference. He then divides by two times pi to get the radius, cubes that, multiplies by pi again, and then multiplies by four-thirds and thereby calculates the volume.The physicist gets a bucket of water, places 1.00000 gallons of water in the bucket, drops in the ball, and measures the displacement to six significant figures. And the engineer? He writes down the serial num-ber of the ball, and looks it up.

Anniversaries in March

P AGE 7 C IGAR BOX BULLETIN

Average Years Married—44

Member Spouse Anniv. Yrs.

Birthdays in March

Average Age--83

Member Birthday Age

Abner S. Salant Joyce 03/27/2011 7

Francis T. Lyons Ursula 03/08/1969 49

J. Stanley Waugh Helen 03/04/1961 57

John Beard Molly 03/31/1956 62

Michael Bennett 3/29/1950 68

Kenneth Watson 3/7/1950 68

Ed Gottmann 3/5/1940 78

Richard Phillips 3/15/1940 78

Oscar Harrell, II 3/29/1936 82

Bob Cooke 3/26/1935 83

Francis Kelly 3/6/1935 83

Jerome D. Hanfling 3/12/1933 85

Gerald Brody 3/15/1932 86

Robert Lenington 3/16/1930 88

Abner S. Salant 3/18/1930 88

Robert A. Vannerson 3/16/1926 92

Yutaka Kobayashi 3/11/1924 94

V OLUME 22 ISSUE 4 P AGE 8

Anniversaries in April

Average Years Married—51

Member Spouse Anniv. Yrs.

Birthdays in April

Average Age--76

Member Birthday Age

Bruce Porter 04/24/1951 67

Paul Sturgis 04/16/1949 69

Howard Kendall 04/13/1947 71

Richard G. Smith 04/15/1947 71

Thomas Travers 04/02/1947 71

William Miniscalco 04/28/1946 72

Niranjan Sheth 04/19/1945 73

Joseph Kerr 04/01/1942 76

Michael Brown 04/05/1938 80

William Hicks 04/13/1937 81

Adi Guzdar 04/15/1936 82

Michael Patterson 04/04/1936 82

Manfred B. Schulz 04/24/1934 84

David Marshall 04/28/1933 85

Kenneth Watson Frances 4/29/1972 46

Robert Hyotte Candy 4/24/1971 47

John Niggl Dicie 4/11/1971 47

John Iberg Lynne 4/17/1970 48

Eric S. Lind Jean 4/15/1967 51

Ulrich Becker Gerda 4/29/1966 52

David Stallard Elizabeth 4/24/1954 64

C IGAR BOX BULLETIN P AGE 9

Why Iron Supplements are Critical

Iron is a critical component of steel which makes it a vital element in the

world. An even more important role of iron is in our bodies. The red

blood cells which carry oxygen throughout our bodies require iron to be

made. Iron is also a necessary element for maintaining healthy hair,

nails, and skin. When our diets are iron deficient, it leads to a decrease

in red blood cell production and numerous other health problems.

There are a number of variables that lead to an increased likelihood for

iron deficiency. Due to the natural differences in the human body, wom-

en have a much greater chance than men of being iron deficient. The

bodies of pregnant women, or women who’ve recently given birth, are

usually low in iron as it’s gone to the development of the baby. The loss

of blood during menopause also puts women at greater risk for iron

deficiency.

Infants and young children are the second most likely group to be iron

deficient. Unlike adult women, the bodies of babies and children aren’t

losing iron. Instead, iron deficiency in children is almost always a result

of dietary intake. Other people with increased risk for iron deficiency

include endurance athletes, frequent users of certain medications and

individuals with certain medical conditions. In some cases, just changing

one’s diet to include more iron-rich foods can prevent iron deficiency.

When dietary changes aren’t enough, iron supplements may become

necessary.

Iron supplements exist in chewable and liquid forms which can be found

over the counter at pharmacies. Companies specializing in nutritional

and pharmaceutical products will offer a broad range of iron supple-

ments. Tablet and capsule forms of iron must be broken down through

digestion before the iron can be absorbed by the body. Liquid forms can

be readily absorbed into the body and as such usually recommend lower

dosages. Both chewable tablets and liquid iron supplements are effective

at adding iron back into a diet.

For people experiencing iron deficiency, it’s important to make dietary

changes that include iron. Individuals who are at increased risks for iron

deficiency should consider taking supplements. For children, a healthy

and well-balanced diet is usually all that’s needed. If children are eating

right and still experience iron deficiency, it’s important to consult with a

doctor before giving them supplements. Maintaining a healthy body and

lifestyle is dependent on many factors, not the least of which is dietary

iron.

If you are in need of an iron supplement but have a sensitive stomach

you may want to try liquid & chewable iron supplements that are a pop-

ular choice for many people.

V OLUME 22 ISSUE 4 P AGE 10

RMA Bulletin Board

MEDITECH is a healthcare IT company. The visit will include: Company History; Past and Current Technology/Products, Interesting Applications of Meditech Products; Future Technol-ogy Trends; A Demonstration of the Current Product Capabili-ties

RMA Trips Under Consideration

• Meditech in Framingham at 10:00 AM on May

10, 2018.

• The National Archives in Waltham.

• The Bose Company in Framingham.

• Possible one-day trips from Sudbury to: The New-

port Mansions, Newport, RI; The Naval War Col-

lege, Newport, RI; and The Amazon Fulfillment

Center, Fall River, MA.

• The PAWSOX game this summer (See below)

Communications on these would be done via email,

and, optionally via Doodle Poll on the Internet. Mem-

bers interested in a trip should sign up at the meeting

or contact Doc Harrell at owhtwo@msn.com or 978-

443-3821

For information on using Doodle please check out:

https://doodle.com/

Company Visit

MEDITECH

May 10, 10:00 AM

550 Cochituate Road, Framingham, MA 01701

781-821-3000

Save the Date

RMA Annual Dinner Dance

Wednesday, October 24th

Appetizers, Dinner, Live Music, Dancing

Cocktails – cash bar

Ticket sales begin late summer 2018

C IGAR BOX BULLETIN P AGE 11

Sophie

Joe sat there in thought.

It was late morning on a Thursday. Joe was tired and bored. He had been bored and depressed since his wife had

been granted a divorce and went off to Texas with her latest lover.

It was the start of a long holiday weekend made longer because the boss was closing the office at noon. Joe had

nothing planned but then he never had something planned. He hated the thought of spending the weekend in front of

Netflix. He was trying to think of someone he could call to go out to dinner with or maybe a movie or maybe a play. No

one came to mind. He stared out the window thinking about nothing and thinking about everything.

There were two birds building a nest in the tree next to the building. They were getting ready for the arrival of

their family. He wondered what type of birds they were. He would look it up when he got home. This would give him

something positive to do. Just then the boss entered his office all excited. This woke Joe up from his dreamy state. "Joe,

we have a big problem in the Paris office. Everyone in the office here has plans for the weekend. Will you go and see

what is going on there? ". It was really an order and not a question.

"I’ll have Marie book you on a flight for tonight and a hotel. I’ll have her make the return flight for next

Wednesday. That should be enough time to solve the problem and then do some sightseeing. Paris is the place to be this

time of year."

"Visit the Louvre, the Orsay, climb the Eiffel Tower, take a ride in a boat on the Seine, take one of the folks

from the Paris office out to dinner. Those sidewalk cafes in Paris are wonderful. Use the company credit card. I will ap-

prove whatever you spend. No questions asked."

Joe went home, packed his bag and ate a TV dinner. Oh how he hated TV dinners. He had tried them all and

they were all bad. He took a cab to the airport, went through security and sat down in the boarding area. He started to

read a cheap paperback novel he purchased in the airport. It had a thin plot but several good sex scenes. It was just what

he needed. It was just enough to keep his attention but not good enough to require him to think.

They announced they were ready to start the boarding process and they would be boarding by rows. Folks who

needed a little extra assistance will board first, then first class passengers. Joe looked at his ticket for the first time, Seat

3B. This is a first-class ticket. Joe boarded and sat down in 3B. Now this is living. The boss really did not want to go. I

wonder what he had planned for the weekend. The word around the office is that he has a girlfriend.

Once they were airborne Joe took a sleeping pill, put the seat back and went off to sleep. He woke up when the

stewardess asked him to put his seat back up. They would be landing in 15 minutes. Was he on the right plane?

He picked up his luggage, went through customs and caught a cab.

He checked into his hotel and went with the bell boy to his room. Wow, this is not a room. This is a suite. The

boss's girlfriend must be something else.

He looked out the window and there was the Eiffel Tower. It looked old, hardly something that should be the

symbol of Paris. Yes, but that is the way with many things. We keep them because we cannot find anything better to re-

place them.

He ordered room service and ate breakfast. He spent the next two hours reading the material Marie had sent him

by email. He was scheduled to be in the Paris office at noon to meet with the staff. He planned to spend today and tomor-

row working. He hoped the problem would be solved by then so he could look around Paris.

He was confident he knew what to do at work but he had no idea what to do about looking around Paris.

To be continued

Disorders of the lower back or spine constitute a major health problem in the United States.

They cause major disruptions in industry and become increasingly common as individuals age.

A wide range of disorders can affect the lower back or spine and can cause pain, neurological

disorders or "mechanical" impairment of activity. Diagnoses can at times be made by an office

visit, but may require complex and expensive imaging. There is also a wide range of potential

treatments, ranging from quite simple methods through medications, procedures involving nee-

dle injections and various surgeries. Recognizing this complexity, Dr. Wilkinson has advocated

a systematic or stepwise approach to these problems.

Harold Wilkinson, M.D. PhD, practiced neurosurgery for 55 years. For 20 years he was Professor and Chairman of

Neurosurgery at University of Massachusetts Medical Center. During his career a large part of his practice was devoted

to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with spinal problems, especially those with low back pain. For the last 12

years of his career he ran and directed the Neurosurgical Spine Evaluation Clinic at the Massachusetts General Hospi-

tal. Many of the scientific papers and textbook chapters which he wrote deal with spinal disorders, and his textbook on

that topic went to a second edition.

First Class Mail

Next Meeting

May 11, 2018

Web site RMenA.org

E-mail info@RmenA.org

R.M.A. Box 261

Wayland, MA 01778

RMA Meeting: Friday, May 11, 10:00 am

Lower Back or Spine Health Problems

Harold Wilkinson, M.D. PhD