He acknowledged that his approach is "a little risky" with new patients because he realizes that medicine is a serious business, and he would never want anyone to feel medically shortchanged. He'll perform a magic trick "when I feel the situation and timing are correct," said Dr. Ungar, author of the book "Bringing Magic to Life" (
Current patients often come in and say, "Doc, I'm fine. Can we get to the neat stuff already?"
Dr. Ungar/Ragnu the OK often performs for charities, including the Jimmy Fund and the Children's Miracle Network, and for youngsters and seniors at local hospitals and nursing homes.
In the future, Dr. Ungar hopes to mentor more aspiring magicians and magician/physicians "in this whole conspiracy of fun," he said. He noted that magic and medicine "are meant to accomplish the same goal: making people feel better. What a bonus it is to do it in spades!"
Fascinated by Thoroughbreds
In May of 1963, when Dr. J. David Richardson was a high school senior in Morehead, Ky., a thoroughbred horse named Never Bend, which his uncle had trained, came within a head's length of winning the Kentucky Derby.
"He was a great horse and became a great stallion later," recalled Dr. Richardson, who is now vice chair of the department of surgery at the University of Louisville (Ky.). "I thought, 'this is pretty nifty stuff.'"
During his residency in San Antonio, Tex., he tried his best to arrange vacation time and medical rotations around race meets at Keeneland in Lexington or Churchill Downs in Louisville. "I remember I did a pathology rotation one year in October so I thought I'd have some free time to go to the Keeneland meet," he said. "I'd get my work done in the morning, so I could go to the races in the afternoon."
Gambling wasn't the primary aspect of thoroughbred racing that attracted him but rather being around the horses, watching them grow and develop, and learning about their behavior from people like his uncle, the late trainer Woody Stephens. Mr. Stephens was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1976 and trained five straight Belmont Stakes winners in the early 1980s.
"Horses come in all stripes, like people," Dr. Richardson said. "Some are smart, some are dumb, and some are more talented than others butby and largethey're honest animals."
Dr. Richardson's experience as a horse owner and breeder began in the late 1970s, when he joined the surgery faculty at the University of Louisville. He formed a business partnership with senior surgeon Dr. Hiram C. Polk that stands to this day. A filly they bred named Mrs. Revere won 13 races between 1984 and 1986.
"She was one of the best two or three fillies in the country," said Dr. Richardson, who is a general and thoracic surgeon. "I think she won about 10 stakes races and over $500,000. If she won the same races today she'd probably make $2 million. She still holds the record for stakes wins at Churchill Downs."
Today he owns about 30 thoroughbreds that are boarded at commercial farms: seven in partnership with Dr. Polk, five on his own, and the rest with other partners. "The business plan is to try to sell colts and keep some well-bred fillies for brood mares," he said. "It's got to pay for itself, so we try to sell enough horses to do that."
He considers the breeding side of the business "fascinating, to plan matings and see how they go," he said. "I enjoy picking up physical characteristics that you think are going to match, and looking at the stallions. You pick the matings, you name the horses, you watch them grow, you sell them, and you root for the people who bought them."
He acknowledged that owning and breeding thoroughbreds is high-risk business and likened it to surgery.
"There's risk and reward to it, and you have to try to figure that out," Dr. Richardson said. "If you're a surgeon, you realize that you can do the best job possible and sometimes you don't get the outcome that you wanted. That's sure true in horse racing. You have to be patient and lucky at times, frankly."
Dr. Rothstein's office shelves are home to his collection of back scratchers.
Over several decades, dermatologist Manny Rothstein has collected more than 620 back scratchers from 64 different countries. Photos courtesy Dr. Manny Rothstein