Randy Davis wrote to thank me for my “Joycean steam of consciousness letter” last March and to propose a trade: his recipe for Queso Fundido con Champiñonesformy in exchange for my recipe for shrimp tamales with roasted garlic cream sauce. This guy is BUSY, so if he’s willing to take time out from spine surgery and skiing, he must really want to try those tamales. Who can blame him?
Randy divides his time between operating rooms in Baltimore, lecture halls at Johns Hopkins and ski destinations on various continents – and from what I can tell, in all seasons. When the snow melts in our latitudes, he simply switches hemispheres. With high-mileage knees, he’s cut back to three hours of downhill per day, but for an addict, that’s still a satisfying fix.
Other than his recent downshift in downhill skiing, Randy shows no signs of slowing down or changing course. In his family, the kids are the ones who are changing course. Meredith and Erik both went to high-powered liberal arts colleges, but at 30 and 27 they’ve traded in their degrees in English and history for a professional reboot. They’re back in school to become an occupational therapist and an optometrist, and they’re both back home with Randy and Karen.