New Doctor on Maple Street

This book is a memoir of a fictional figure Dick, in forms of short stories and essays. He is an immigrant from Korea and was a country doctor in rural North East. Dick feels the US was like labor camps in Siberia. They made him a workaholic, a caffeine addict, and tortured him with sleep deprivation. He writes on uphill battles to adapt to new culture, difficulties in settling down in a small town, hectic rural solo medical practice, small-town medical politics, bored country- doctor’s wife, problem raising kids, some mundane events in retirements, and also on some foreign affairs that conjure up his old memories. He settles down in a Company Town with one traffic light and one cop. In Siberian Camp, he is on freeway on his way for family vacation, when the town cop stops him to go to ICU. A Country Doctor’s Wife is bored and comes to work in office stirring up few things. Charlie is a middle aged Physician’s Assistant, who wanted to be a doctor all his life. He once was arrested for impersonating a doctor but he is now accepted to a medical school in Caribbean. A Blonde is a middle aged gay lady dying of terminal cancer who savors wine and food before she dies. In Small Town Medical Politics hospital CEO’s control medical staff, the town, the Board and even sleeps with the Chairwoman. In A Near Miss Dick shows glimpses of his college romance through the political chaos and personal tragedies, and tells how he comes to the US. Two years in total incommunicado, the girl suddenly comes to him on the eve of getting engaged, demanding to elope to Canada. Dick wonders if Mr. Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize had affected his foreign policies as might have done to South Korean President Kim Dae-Joong. Some believe it aggrandized President Kim’s ego, making him more narcissistic and obfuscated his missions. In Refugee Crisis, he compares Syrian refugees with those North Koreans in Korean War. *** In Preface Dick’s seat mate on the way to Vladivostok was a Korean descendant who was now living in Australia. Dick meets a North Korean defector from Siberian logging camp run by North Korean Government. His plights were similar to Dick’s US days 35 years earlier when he was an intern. He had to work 36 hours straight with 12 hours off, with paltry pay but large amount of airline debts. In Uphill battles, Dick encounters various culture shocks. He gets homesick. He later ventures out to downtown but an FBI agent questions him frightening him. From then on he stays in dorm rest of the year watching TV learning American customs. In Small Town Medical Politics hospital CEO’s wield absolute power. One handsome CEO even sleeps with Chairwoman of the Board. Country doctors are nice but territorial and quarrel all the time but they unite to lynch Blacks or foreigners. In A Near Miss Dick shows glimpses of his college romance through political chaos and personal tragedies but Dick abruptly comes to the US by bribing a colonel over ox-tail soup. They meet last briefly in New York City, and kiss at the top of the Empire State Building. After in incommunicado for two years, Amy suddenly comes to him on the eve of getting engaged to a billionaire’s son, and demands to elope to Canada. After three years in Canada Dick comes back to the US but his research dreams dry out. He is totally burnt out and suffers from PTSD, and now wants to go to a smallest town away from cut-throat academic competition. He goes for an interview to Company Town in snowstorm. Policeman blocks all the traffic and tells him to go back but later he sneaks through. In settling down, Dick sees racism galore. In Yellow Peril Dr. Kim is married to a Greek lady. His neighbor harasses Kims to chase them off. When they don’t move, they take him to court for planting his hedge one inch inside his huge property. But when their only daughter marries a Black high school sweetheart, they get heartbroken. In Reverse Racism, Koreans are not exception. A senior Korean physician in town tells Dr. Kim to hide some money under the mattress in case his Greek wife runs away. When his son marries a Swedish, Hongs do not object but Dr. Hong gets heartsick when his daughter marries a Black, her college sweetheart.