Profundity One

By David C. Franklin

A word spoken, a line read can make the difference between life and death or success and failure.

A retired black general surgeon raised by his parents in a low-income housing project of Montgomery, Alabama, with eight other siblings reflects on lessons learned and nuggets extracted from a life infused with its fair share of struggle, joy, pain, and ultimate victory.

Read, believe, and receive and set sail on your own journey to recovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781496970954

David C. Franklin

David C. Franklin, MD, was born and reared in Montgomery, Alabama, where he attended Booker T. Washington high school and later received a bachelor of arts degree from Alabama State University. Dr. Franklin received the MD degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, 1974. He completed five years of general surgical residency training, two initial years at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC, and three subsequent years at York Hospital, York, Pennsylvania. Upon completion of his residency, Dr. Franklin returned to Birmingham and practiced general surgery for seventeen years, relocating to Plymouth, North Carolina, in 1996, where he continued his practice for nine years, finally moving to Elizabethtown, North Carolina, for three years before returning home to Montgomery, Alabama, in 2007. Dr. Franklin is married to his best friend, Annie, and is the proud father of three children. He has twelve years experience working in men’s ministry, both in Alabama and North Carolina. Semiretired now, he busies himself with writing, speaking engagements, and medical consultations. As a black general surgeon, Dr. Franklin was instrumental in integrating some six different hospitals. The numerous trials and tribulations experienced in this stead he now counts as blessings, for they were invaluable in his spiritual and character development. Dr. Franklin considers his greatest achievement the acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

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© 2015 David C. Franklin, M.D. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/02/2015

ISBN: 978-1-4969-7096-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-7095-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015902595

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Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Communication

Of Storms And Fear

Imperfect Seed

Point of reference

Supreme Pilot

The Right Thing

The Request

Stress Creed Of The Afflicter

Wisdom

Value System

Vision

Vintage Divine

Movement

Invitation

How Great Art Thou

Faith

Clues

Choir Rehearsal

Black People In Trouble

Beyond The Fringe

Aware

Encounter

Betrayed

Deceptions

God’s Man

Heed

Challenge

Inner Portrait

Jealousy

Live!!

Birmingham Flight

Men’s Ministry

Notes

Of Gifts And Talents

Paper Tigers

Power Of Faith

Prepare A Place For Him

Real Man

Power Of The Anointing

Ropadope

Spending Time

Survival Anthem Of The Black Man

Thank You

The Million Man March

The Picture I See

Rejoice

The Joyful Life

Already There

Abba

Happy Birthday, Annie, My Love!

Sail On, Brother Nelson, Sail ON

William Henry Norman (Happy Jack)

Holy Spirit

Gary’s Homegoing

Fly On Brother Gary

A Black Man’s Ire

Dad’s Departure

Hymn?

Of Those Who Would Be Great

Synopsis

About the Author

Dedication

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO JIMMY AND JULIA M. FRANKLIN, MY DECEASED PARENTS,

WHO WITH MODEST MEANS,

CARED FOR, LOVED AND INSPIRED ALL NINE OF THEIR CHILDREN.

Introduction

Being black and striving to be a good physician in America during the early 80’s presented some rather unique challenges not immediately obvious to all outside of the realm of medicine. This is all the more true for those who chose to embark on a career in surgery. The critical mind might counter with the observance that I was enrolled in only the third class to accept Afro-American students at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, December 1, 1971. This along with the fact that I hailed from an historically black university (Alabama State University), perhaps they could argue, flavors my perception of former events, which at best are isolated and in no way reflective of the national experience. Indeed, there may be some validity to these assertions. My intent, nevertheless is to present as factually as possible, personal experiences and observations from medical school, surgical residency and private practice. The reader is free to make his or her own conclusions as to merit and meaning of these recordings.

In many ways attending medical school at UAB was a unique experience for me. First of all it was the greatest academic challenge I had experienced to date. UAB was also my initial inter-racial educational environment. Though unique, I can’t say that anything I experienced was surprising. To receive this one needs only focus on the era in which I was raised in Montgomery, Alabama. Called the civil rights era, it allowed me the opportunity to witness in many ways the freedom riders, sit-in demonstrations, marches for freedom, and overt racism at it’s worst. I was even privileged to hear in person the magnificent oratory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he spoke from the capitol steps, about six blocks from my home. Unfortunately, I also felt the pain inflicted by the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. King, Medgar Evers, and Robert Kennedy.

Consequently, I was not awed by the fact that only five of one hundred twenty three white students in my class would return my greeting, whether it was What’s happening, or Good morning. Neither was I shocked when four of the six african American(AA) students in my class signed up to work with four separate groups of white students, only to return the following day to find all names stricken from the lists except their own. It did bother me, however, that we lost two AA students, not because they couldn’t do the work, rather they succombed to the stress of a negative social climate. Though perhaps a friendship or two were fostered across the racial divide, towards the conclusion of our three year compulsory program, the common thread on both sides appeared to be respect.

Upon graduation I decided to pursue a career in general surgery and began scheduling interviews for residency positions. Ultimately I visited programs in Atlanta, Los Angelos, San francisco, Seattle, Portland, and Washington D.C. My interview at Georgetown university went unusually well and I guess I fell in love with D.C.. In June, 1974 my wife Annie and I moved into an apartment in Fairfax, Va., about an hour’s drive from D.C. and adjacent to Fairfax Hospital one of my rotation sites. July finds me in the