But I Thought John Cusack Killed Him?

As a preface, there is a film called "Grosse Pointe Blank" starring John Cusack as a former CIA assassin turned professional contract killer. It is a black comedy which I like a lot, and in it there is a line where he is telling someone about some of the "jobs" he has performed. "I killed the president of Paraguay . . . with a fork."

I am in Houston on business. There is a section of town known as the Texas Medical Center where some of the country's preeminent healthcare facilities such as The Methodist Hospital, M.D. Andersen Cancer Center, and the DeBakey Heart Center, are located all together in a campus-like environment with its own shops, restaurants, and transportation. I am staying at the Marriott Medical Center which is right in the center of it all and is pretty nifty in and of itself in that it caters to the healthcare community. Since patients and their families stay here, all of the bathrooms are fitted with assistance rails and the restaurants have a significant selection of healthy items.

Returning to the hotel today after meetings, I was waiting for the elevator with some other people, and it seemed to be taking longer than it should. One of the elevators opened and men with earpieces and Uzis peeking out from beneath their jackets emerged advising us all to move aside and stand back. Following these men were another group of well-dressed Latino men, followed by more gun-toting personnel. They moved swiftly through the lobby, exiting the lobby to a set of waiting cars.

We piled into the elevator along with a bellman. One of the other guests asked the bellman what guest was so special that they deserved the security and entourage. The bellman replied that he was not supposed to tell, but after prompting from the rest of us he revealed that we had just seen the president of Paraguay.

Perhaps he didn't die, but was here to have his puncture wounds treated?