Benji”—she just couldn’t help calling him that!—“my education was a blessing not only to me, but to a lot of people, including my family. Your father’s Middle Eastern background helped a lot too, since that diet is really a pretty healthy one as well. Teaching you the importance of a good diet was a top priority for me, and I’m pleased that you realize the value of that now. Your father’s getting to be my challenge now—just look at him! I’ll bet he’s put on forty pounds since you left home!”
“Hey you two! Enough of the food talk. We didn’t invite Ben here to talk about diet! He’s got some important choices to make about grad school next year, and I was kind of hoping he would follow in my footsteps and maybe take over the family business before too long. How about it, Ben? Have you been thinking much about that? I sure hope I haven’t slaved all these years for nothing!”
Anwar Amani had emigrated from Iran to New York City with his family when he was only seven years of age. He was a precocious child, quickly adapting to American ways and always excelling in school. Growing up in the penicillin era, where great strides were being made in conquering infectious diseases, Anwar was strongly attracted to pharmaceutical science and was, in fact, attending the Schwartz College of Pharmacy when he met Margaret, while giving a community lecture on phyto-based pharmaceuticals. Anwar’s brilliance and strong work ethic did not go unrewarded, as he soon opened his first drugstore there in Brooklyn, which he later expanded to a regional chain and finally sold in 1995 for an obscene amount of money. The family then relocated to Portland, Oregon, and purchased their present home in the west hills overlooking the city. Anwar quickly became restless and started another local drugstore, which he expanded into a compounding pharmacy in early 2000 and continued to operate from its present Burnside Street location, relatively near his home. Ben was keenly aware that his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps, but had never been too keen on that prospect, largely due to his mother’s more natural, holistic, and proactive perspective. His parents’ diverging philosophies about health care had been the subject of many a lively debate around their home, and Ben was sure that tonight would follow suit. His preferences were more in line with his mother’s thinking, however, and he hoped to develop a health-oriented career geared more toward prevention than treatment. He wasn’t looking forward to disappointing his father, though, and had been thinking for some time about how to respond to the question that, as he had expected, his father had just posed.
Taking his fork and toying with his eggplant for a moment, Ben sighed and reckoned it was now or never. “Dad,” he began with some trepidation, “I really appreciate all you’ve done for our family, as I’m sure Mom does too. We never lacked for anything, and I have always admired your knowledge and your good business sense. You built an amazing company back in New York, and I’m sure you could do it again here if you wanted to. You and Mom have taught me a lot about health care, and as you know, I have been leaning in that direction career-wise for some time now. I realize that you would love to see me go to pharmacy school and take over the family business, and I’m very flattered that you think me a worthy successor to yourself. I also think that down deep, you probably suspect, although I know you hate to admit it, that I just don’t have the same qualities or interests that you do. And Mom, before the tug-of-war even starts, I’m pretty sure that you would like me to be a nutritionist like yourself and work to prevent a lot of the chronic diseases that we’re seeing these days.”
Anwar, becoming restless at this last statement, interrupted, “But Ben, surely you don’t think you can make the kind of money that I do trying to get people to eat right, do you? Son, someday you’re going to have a family to support, and that may be fine for your mother, but hardly for you!”
“Now wait a minute, Anwar.” Margaret put down her eating utensils and stared directly at her husband. “You really don’t think money should be Benji’s primary consideration for choosing an occupation, do you? Surely you know that all those drugs you sell would be unnecessary for the most part if people understood and practiced a healthy lifestyle and diet, don’t you?”
“So you’ve always said,” Anwar snapped back, “but we’re talking Ben’s livelihood here. He could help people and make a ton of money in the process if he built on the foundation I’ve already laid for him. All the years I’ve been nurturing this business, I’ve always had Ben in the back of my mind, hoping I could give him a really good start in life with a respectable career and a great job already waiting for him! What kid wouldn’t love to walk into that scenario?” Anwar looked incredulously back at Margaret, then at Ben. “I love you, son. I’ve always just wanted to do my best to make life a little easier for you, that’s all. Surely you can see that!”
Ben squirmed a little in his seat; this was going to be even tougher than he had thought. He took a deep breath and summoned his highest level of finesse. “Dad, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your efforts,” he began, attempting to placate his father. “Growing up, I was most fortunate to have two rather divergent perspectives under one roof. I respect you both, and quite naturally, I’m probably a composite of your two worldviews. I certainly favor the natural preventive approach in general, but also recognize that many people just aren’t going to follow it and will need further assistance, most likely from your area, actually, Dad. While it would be an incredible gift for me to someday take over your business, I know that being a pharmacist is just not holistic enough for me. And Mom, while I totally respect what you do, and your knowledge base concerning foods and nutrients, I want a bit more power to effect outcomes in peoples’ lives than I would have as a nutritionist. So the bottom line here is that I have applied to OHSU Medical School, because it’s near home and offers me exactly the options that I’m looking for. I plan to do my residency in internal medicine, and although I’m sure that I will prescribe some medicines, my primary focus will be on prevention of chronic disease whenever possible. I hope you both can understand and support my position and realize how much I do truly honor and respect you both.”
There, Ben thought to himself, I’ve gotten it all off my chest, and rather eloquently too. Think I’ll have a little eggplant and assess the damage.
Anwar was, of course, the first to speak in return. He seemed truly heartbroken and managed only to mumble, “Well, I guess that only goes to show that you can’t plan another person’s life for them, can you? I’m very disappointed, but not entirely shocked. I figured you had too much of your mother in you to totally go my direction with your career. And that’s not a bad thing, really. I just hope you can make a good living. There are a lot of doctors around, and reimbursement to them just keeps getting cut by the government and third-party payors. You probably won’t make as much as you would running my business, but I’m sure you will do ok. Just try not to get too far out on the fringe and start hanging out with all those alternative medicine sorts…you know, Portland is chock-full of them!”
“And Benji,” Margaret chimed in, “don’t let that medical school brainwash you either! Your father’s industry controls medical education and makes sure you think they’re God’s gift to the world, but believe me, they’re not. Stick to what I’ve taught you about the importance of diet—lots of organic vegetables, some fruits, and not so much meat, and only grass-fed meat at that. No processed foods, minimal sugar, and plenty of omega-3 fats to keep your immune system balanced. And don’t forget clean water, plenty of sleep, and lots of exercise. I…”
At this point, Anwar just couldn’t take any more. “For God’s sake, Margaret, Ben’s been around you for almost twenty-one years…don’t you think he knows that by now? Son, just keep a balance, don’t go too far to either extreme, and you’ll be fine. We’re very proud of you, and we know you’ll do well in medical school. Take it easy with the girls, too—you certainly don’t want any unexpected pregnancies!”
This time, it was Margaret who had enough. “Anwar! I can’t believe you just said that! Our Benji is not going to get anyone pregnant—we’ve taught him far better than that! And he’s not going to be a drunkard, or a druggie, or anything like that either,
