The sudden illness of a Senator from South Dakota, Tim Johnson, made me think about how small the world is. His illness is terrible: a silent growth of blood vessels in the brain that are unable to contain the pressure and rupture. The subsequent stroke affects the regions of the brain where the nest of vessels had been growing; in this case, Senator Johnson experienced trouble with speech and expression before suffering the full effect of the stroke, indicating language centers of his brain were affected (“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16199440/”:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16199440/).
What made me think about the size of the planet is where he is recuperating. That hospital, George Washington University Hospital, is right next to the Foggy Bottom metro station. That station, just a few removed from Reagan Airport, is where I exit the metro to walk to our regular hotel for the Washington lobbying trips. I really like that part of town, with its proximity to Georgetown and the White House. It’s a very pleasant part of the city, and seeing shots of the hospital where I often pass with suitcase in tow is a bit eerie.
