I was reminded this Father’s Day of a story my Dad, a practicing physician for over fifty years, told us about meeting his great uncle just before starting medical school at Tulane in 1943. That Dr. Malone was a country doctor in rural Alabama, the only one for over a hundred miles, serving a poor, rural community. He did complex surgeries, delivered babies and, famously, made his own surgical equipment in his shop behind the house. ( My Dad and brother, Don, an orthopedic surgeon, could have done this if needed, but I lack that talent!). Nearing retirement, he walked my Dad to his basement revealing hundreds of jugs of moonshine whiskey he had received though the years as payment for care! This was standard tender for payment in this area and, often, all his patients had to give. It would be an insult to refuse and, a trueblood Irishman, he could not partake. The jugs remained as a statement of the value this community placed on his service to them. My Dad always laughed at what the new owners must have thought after he passed and they opened the basement door!
I am grateful to the mentoring and role modeling the generations of Dr. Malones have given me in my own life and practice. In Ft. Worth, there was a Dr. Malone attending patients at All Saint’s Hospital for over 56 years until my unit closed three years ago.The pleasures of medical science, a good work ethic, and a sense of service to your community were what I gained from this legacy. Thanks to my Dad, James D. Malone, M.D., for passing this on to me!