FOLLOW THE PENGUINS
I have always liked penguins, but I never really set out to collect
them. It was more as if they found me.
NEW PICTURES 2004
Hello! If you came from my homepage, you already know who I am.
If you just found me by doing a search for penguins, then welcome anyhow! My name is Frank Galef, M.D. and I am a physician in Vista,
California. My specialty is Internal Medicine. These
are pictures of the penguins that adorn the walls of one of my exam rooms.
They have been gathering here since 1980. When I began my practice
I put up a penguin picture mainly because I liked the graphics. I
later found a poster at San Francisco's Steinert Aquarium that featured
penguins and added that to my walls. These were to make my patients
feel welcome, if not warm as they sat on the exam table in a paper gown.
They soon began to bring me more penguins, figuring that if I had two pictures,
I must really like them. Today there are over 150 penguins
in these displays. I add a calendar every year to keep the room current.
There are penguins from all over the world. There are stuffed toys,
ceramics, magnets, glass, plastic, fur and wooden figures, music boxes,
glasses, mugs, plates, bath soaps, playing cards, Christmas ornaments,
light catchers, snow globes, pins, pens, souvenir smashed pennies, and earrings. I get a lot of penguin
cards during the Holidays and for my birthday. For special occasions
(like Fridays) I have a couple of penguin ties. I also have several
T-shirts featuring them, but our Fridays at work aren't that casual.
A few other animals have also sneaked in. Several Meerkats, pelicans,
and seals have also found their way into the displays as I am absolutely
non-discriminatory in my willingness to accept gifts. The pictures
above are the display case and shelf on the East Wall of the room. Below
are the rest of the walls and I should probably take a picture of the sink.
NORTH
WALL
SOUTH WALL
WEST WALL
This room also features penguin plug covers and a chrome penguin ice bucket
that now serves as a glove holder. You don't want to know what those
are for...
A quick note on the dark side of maintaining a public collection:
I get a lot of positive feedback on these displays. They are a lot
more fun to look at than the pictures on the walls of most doctors' exam
rooms featuring lungs and rashes. A lot of different people have
contributed and I always refer to this as my patients' collection rather
than my own. Most of the people who have contributed like to see
their penguin when they come in and often ask where it is. Unfortunately,
a few of these inanimate little critters developed legs and walked out
when I wasn't looking. Once, an entire calendar vanished! That's
why the cabinets with the smaller characters have locks on them.
As I mentioned, while I never really set out to collect penguins, they
do fascinate me. The Penguin Encounter at San Diego's Sea World is
a fabulous display. I never tire of watching them. If you are
interested in these incredible birds, check out the following links:
Penguin
Place An on-line store for penguinia.
Pete
& Barbara's Penguin Page This British couple has a huge website
with over 100 pages devoted to penguins.
The
Penguin Collection of Ana Maria Frias This lady in Portugal has
a collection over ten times larger than mine, on-line!
If you want to talk penguins, or have other comments, please e-mail
me at: tyrarex2&gmail.com . but use @ instead of & .
You can also check out my Homepage at
The
Galef Oceanside Asylum . There are links to some of my other
collecting and scientific interests.
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IF YOU ARE A PENGUIN FAN WHO HAPPENED
TO DROP BY, PLEASE SIGN MY
GUESTBOOK
YES,
I ALSO DREAM IN BLACK AND WHITE
This is a new Guestbook, so if you are a repeat visitor and even if you signed
the old one, sign this one too!
