Actually I did not realize how little I knew about this subject until I started digging deeper into it. The motivation stemmed from conversations I had with some of my friends recently. Maybe I should blame it on McDonalds.
Breakfast at McDonalds
Dr. Joe, Big John, and I have been meeting for breakfast regularly for the past three years. I am the only one in the group who is still working. Joe is 66 years old and a retired dentist. John is 79 and a retired plant engineer. I turn 60 in just a few months, but don’t see retirement in the picture for a few years yet. I have been a marketing executive for past 40 years.
None of us particularly like the food at McDonalds. It is just a convenient place to meet since Dr. Joe and John live close by, and my office is a short distance away. Dr. Joe has never eaten the food at McDonalds. He even brings in his own coffee or can of caffeine-free Coca Cola to the morning get-togethers. I am sure Joe will probably outlive John and I as a result of his abstinence.
More important than the food, we use these gatherings to talk about the news. The conversations are usually focused on politics or how well the Atlanta Braves or Falcons are doing. But then, occasionally, we talk about life. Sometimes that part of our conversation is philosophical. Sometimes it is just nostalgic and humorous. Other times, we may talk about some scientific article we read or perhaps a television special on the Discovery Channel.
Just this morning, for example, Dr. Joe brought in a magazine article that explained why my dentist had trouble numbing me recently for the replacement of an old crown in the lower left side of my mouth. All I can say about the article is beware of “the difficulties of applying anesthesia to the buccal cortical plate of the mandible”. Understand? Don’t feel alone…I don’t either.
On several occasions, the conversation has covered the subject of Creation and the Big Bang theory. Until digging deeper into the subject, I felt pretty comfortable with my knowledge. John and I are pretty much on the same page with this subject and fully support the Big Bang theory. However, Dr. Joe is a Christian Fundamentalist. As such, he views Creation as it is described in Genesis. He believes it to be an accurate account of how the Cosmos and planet Earth came into being. Even so, Dr. Joe encourages us to speak our minds. I admire him for that, not to mention my admiration for anyone making it through dental school. The three of us get along very well, despite our often polar views.