He said, "What kind of doctor is he?" I said,"An internist.""A what,"he asked. Slower and more clearly I repeated,"An internist," trying not to sound agitated. "Oh, well that's exactly what I need," he said with relief. Then I told my 84-year-old father, as we drove around the corner, "They say if you can remember rotary phones then you are old enough for an internist.." He said, "I remember when I was young you didn't even have to dial the phone. When my stepmother would phone her relatives in Tarborro, she would simply pick up the phone and say, 'Tarborro number one please.'

"I can still hear her voice say it."