My primary doc chose him because his doctor friends told him that Sam is the best shoulder man in New York and my primary man is very well connected. You don’t want to be looking through the Yellow Pages or googling, you want to get the inside scoop, and doctors gossip about each other and know who’s who. You don’t recommend a surgeon just because he’s a golf partner. This is one difference between medicine and politics: competence is expected. If Sam had been like the guys masterminding the war on Iran, he would’ve replaced my shoulder with my right ankle.
It isn’t important to me that Sam went to Harvard. I don’t hold his Harvardity against him either. If I knew he had voted for Trump in 2024, I’d be off the table and out the door, goodbye, have a nice life. I’m okay with the fact he’s a serious skier, it means he probably has some orthopedic problems of his own. If his hobby were stand-up comedy, I’d be, like, Uhhh, let me think about this. Comedy is self-deprecating and I don’t look for that in a doctor. A dancer? Okay. A flamenco guitarist? Great. A poet? I’m outta here.
