Walked the 342-mile perimeter of Los Angeles in 10-mile segments

This week, Ira spoke with Dr. Roy Meals, (a Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at UCLA and author of several books), who walked the 342-mile perimeter of Los Angeles in 10-mile segments, talked with the people he encountered, and explored local points of interest. In this  peripatetic episode of “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Roy talks about how he got the idea for his project; his preparations for the walks; the people (and locations) who had an impact on him; discovering the Simms Library of Poetry; relying on his sense of human nature; visiting a landfill; and what he discovered about people and places.

Roy Meals grew up in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. He attended Rice University, majored in biology, and gained a deep appreciation for the diversity and adaptations of animal life. At Vanderbilt University Medical School, he further explored the workings and failings of human tissues, especially those of the musculoskeletal system.

Dr. Meals completed an orthopedic surgery residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital followed by a hand surgery fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. He then joined the faculty at UCLA where he is currently a Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery.

He has served as President of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and has also been on the editorial board of the Journal of Hand Surgery for most of his career. This has included a five-year term as Editor-in-Chief.

Along the way, Dr. Meals lived in Turkey for two years and took the opportunity to travel extensively in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. These trips expanded his interest in the historical and cultural aspects of human anatomy. He continues to be an ardent traveler and has discovered interesting information about the musculoskeletal system during his visits to 48 states and 49 countries.

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