Chief of surgical oncology Richard White loves a great story
As the warm days and cool evenings of the fall season move into the Queen City, C5 chats with another Charlotte notable and celebrity to catch a rare, quick glimpse of their personal side by asking those three intriguing questions:
- What are you reading?
- What are you listening to?
- What are you watching?
And, like the others who sat in the chair before, we will take the answers to these three questions and find the meaning, theme, or message.
I caught up with the extremely busy Dr. Richard White during a rare 30 minutes of free time. White is chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, at the Levine Cancer Institute at Carolinas Medical Center. The questions:
What are you reading?
I have been incredibly busy at the Institute the last four months. Outside of the numerous medical journals, I’m reading the biography “Washington: A Life” by Ron Chernow. It’s a comprehensive look at George Washington’s life, starting with his early years. It is a fairly long book so I read what I can, when I can. I love reading history. I recently finished reading “Eric Clapton: The Autobiography.” It’s a very interesting story. He overcame a lot even though he has accomplished so much.
Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, two of the greatest guitarists. pic.twitter.com/3W5lOaAgo1
— Lost In History (@HistoryToLearn) October 9, 2015
What are you listening to?
I regularly listen to public radio on WDAV, 89.9 FM, and WFAE, 90.7 FM. I love “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” and “Car Talk.” Even though “Car Talk” is in re-runs, it is still entertaining and informative. I also listen to news in the evening. I do listen to music when I am in the operating room. I let the nurses pick the station on Sirius/XM. It is set to either The Pulse or Classic Vinyl. As long as the music is not something hard and pulsating, I am fine. I just prefer that everyone in the OR is comfortable.
What are you watching?
I’m a sports guy. I always watch the Panthers; never miss them. Outside of that, there is not much on TV that I watch. I have been watching “Homeland.” I originally started watching it to spot all of the sites in Charlotte where it was filmed. Now, since it’s not filmed here any longer, I watch it just to see what happens to the characters.
What does all of this mean to Richard as a static self-assessment?
“Even though I spend a good majority of my time with medicine, family and personal time is important. With that personal free time, I love a great story in real life, regardless if I am reading it, listening to it or watching it. There are so many fascinating stories out there that are true; I need to get through them before I have time for fictional ones. I’m old school.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Chief of surgical oncology Richard White loves a great story."