Title: The Boy from Mississippi

Contributor: Frederick Cobb

My favorite Stead Story is one he reminds me of when we meet. It is about how I became a Duke Medical Intern. He said that each year when the new medical interns were selected, he always reserved the right to choose one from the list of potential candidates. He said he looked through the list and saw this boy from Mississippi and decided I would be his selection for the year 1964-65.

At that time there was no formal interview process. I had visited at Duke informally but Dr. Stead was out of town, a rare event, so we had never met. He has never said exactly why he made that choice, but he has always seemed to be pleased with the selection.

I see him infrequently now, but when we do meet, he retells the story about his selection of "the boy from Mississippi." I have always been pleased to hear the story retold. It brings back fond memories of the journey to Duke and housestaff days.