In the summer of 1999, I was a fresh-faced kid who had just returned to Lexington, KY from a wild adventure I will call “Freshman Year of College.”

In the course of those nine months, I had collected a lifetime worth of memories, learned a few things about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll, as well as making a cadre of life-long friends.

Nothing like Will Smith’s “Summertime” would be happening.

 

 

The prospect of returning to Lexington for the summer was an enormous let down.

When I packed up my 1983 Mercedes-Benz station wagon and headed back to Lexington, I knew I would have to adjust to a whole new life from the one I’d left less than a year earlier.

I returned to a new, smaller house on a different side of town; most of the few friends I’d made in my 2.5 years of high school in Lexington were gone; none of the friends I’d made in college were nearby; and no cool job was waiting for me.

By the end of the first week of summer, I was vowing to never return.

And yet, here I find myself.

It’s as if I’m Marty McFly and I’ve gone Back to the Future.

 

 

Now I’m adjusting to an even smaller “house” on a different side of town; nearly all of my friends are either gone or living as fully functional adults; none of my college, grad school, or medical school friends live nearby;  and I had no cool job to bide my time until I start Residency.

Marty McFly would be devastated if he’d traveled backwards, or forwards, in time and landed in this mess.

In 1999, I decided to make the most what I had learned during freshman year and dedicated myself  to building on this “new me”.

To keep my mind fresh, I read books like “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and “The Catcher Was a Spy.”

To build on my fitness kick, I dedicated myself in the gym by spending 2 hours a day at the local YMCA, and playing basketball outdoors under the intense summer sun.

To put some money in my pocket, I grabbed a part-time job stocking shelves at a Kroger grocery store… overnight.

To most everyone, I became a ghost. But not this cool of a ghost…

 

 

In the fall of 2013, with medical school almost finished, and a potential move to San Fran, Houston, Boston, or DC as real possibilities with the promise of free room and board and cool job opportunities before starting Residency, I made a fateful call to my mother in Lexington.

Within a few minutes, I realized that none of those opportunities would come to fruition and I would need to use my free time before Residency to return to Lexington.

Instead of Marty’s Delorean,  my “new” old Mercedes-Benz sedan would have to take me back in time.

With the aid of modern vehicular technology, I’ve been transported back to that Summer of 1999, only to endure the bitter winter of 2013/2014. But despite the unlikely return, I’ve decided to continue building on the “new me” that has emerged from medical school.

To keep my mind fresh, I’ve read books like “My Own Country” by Abraham Verghese and “How Doctors Think” by Jerome Groopman.

 

 

To re-start my fitness kick, I’ve returned to that same YMCA… though the days of intense 2-hour workouts are far behind me.

 

 

To put some money in my pocket, I grabbed a temporary job at Amazon processing return orders… overnight.

To most everyone, I’ve become a ghost.

The summer of 1999 did provide me with a few memorable experiences though:

• I took a trip to Windsor, Ontario, and gambled, drank, and partied like it was 1999 with Wes and Rustang… and then drove back into Lexington after that two-day bender just in time to be 20 minutes late to work.
• I was caught with a porno mag underneath my mattress by my mom. I subsequently received a bone-numbing letter and lecture on how I could talk to her about any of my sexual curiosities.
• I was chased out of a kegger 20 minutes after arriving by the hostess’s drunken step-father for only bringing a six-pack.
• I recklessly drove a friends’ fathers’ Jaguar down the backroads of Ohio during a 4th of July celebration.

 

 

And so far, despite the numbing winter of 2013/14, I’ve managed a few memorable experiences:

• I took a trip to Hoboken, NJ, stayed with friends, and interviewed for Residency. I flew back into Lexington after two days of vertigo caused by staying up for 36 hours straight to be awake for my interview, just in time to be on-time for my overnight job.
• Thankfully, I have not been caught by my mom doing anything. And she hasn’t asked me anything about my sex life.
• My alcohol consumption has been limited to a couple of bars and friends’ homes. No keggers.
• Nor have I driven anyone’s sports car I wasn’t supposed to.

 

 

In other words, while my return to Lexington was unexpected and without a plan, just like in The Summer of 1999 I’ve tried to make the most of it. And as there was that summer, an end is in sight: I will soon find out where I’ll be heading for Residency and begin another exciting chapter in my life.

For the record, if that chapter is anything like “Sophomore Year of College”, it’s going to be one hell of a sequel.