"This is a picture of me the first time I went to the OR.  Somebody yelled, "Hey -you can't come in here without a mask!" I thought this request was a little odd, but one thing I learned in Radiologic Technology school is to always do what the Dr. asks.  I was first exposed to x-rays as a child when my Mom took me to buy new shoes.  Shoe stores had special x-ray machines that x-rayed your feet to see if your shoes fit right.  If you were really good, the salesman would let you put your hands in there, too.  I tried to stick my sister's head in there, but it was too big- little did I know that this small event foreshadowed becoming the skull positioning instructor at CCSF! 

I went to CCSF in 1967, not for Radiology, but to become an engineer. We used slide rules back then.  Even if you could afford a calculator (they cost about $800 back then!), you were not allowed to use it.  It was so hard keeping track of the decimal point, that even if you got to wrong answer, you could still get an "A".  Don't try this in  DMI 51B ... I then transferred to UC Berkeley in 1969 and got a BA degree in Psychology because I always enjoyed nosing into other people's personal lives.  When I realized that having a bachelor's degree and working for Toys R US for $2.15 an hour wasn't going to make it (especially since they fired me), I went to Radiologic Technology school in 1974 at  the now defunct UCSF Medical Center program.. I was not one their favorite students, and they advised me to look elsewhere for a job after I graduated.  Somehow I got hired there anyway, and  31 years later, with the exception of one person, everyone else was gone, but I was still there! As of July, 2007, I officially retired from UCSF. In early 1991, I was hired at CCSF as the Radiology 51a Positioning lab instructor.  I had one special quality that made me perfect for the job- I was the only Tech in the bay area with Tuesday afternoons off....

In 1978, I met  the woman who 10 years was later to become my wonderful wife.  Tania  was a Radiologic Technology student at the time, and later specialized in Mammography. We worked together at the Ambulatory Care Center for over 10 years.  I used to peak at her mammograms when she wasn't looking!

Few people have heard this story, but I use to play softball with Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen when we were kids! Truth be told, he wasn't very good, but he owned the only bat- ...one of those deals... Imagine being named "Roentgen", and going to medical school to become a Radiologist!  I bet he took a lot of ribbing from the other students!  I have a feeling there was a little pressure from his mother- she even gave him the middle name of Con"Rad"!  It would be like if you were a female veterinarian named "Kitty Fixer" or a barber named "Harry Cutter".

Speaking of names, a name like I have- Tom Hall- is exceedingly common; in fact, I sometimes x-ray a patient named "Tom Hall", and there is even a Urologist where I work with the same name. My biggest fantasy is that some day Dr. Hall will order me to do an x-ray on patient Hall- would that be cool, or what?  Sometimes I get  phone calls from doctors looking for him for a consult.  Rather than embarrass these important men by telling them they have reached the wrong person, sometimes I just go with it, using my experience having kidney stones to help them.  Even when its not in your job description, this is a helping profession, and you should always do what you can to be of service to others, especially the doctors.  You won't always get a thanks, but you will get a warm feeling inside!"