By Holly Taylor

The attached photo is of my six-year-old son at Community Mural at the Central Theater in Hot Springs National Park. When he saw the large, silly banana character, he started giggling, clapping, and jumping up and down. He found the image so funny, that he could not contain his reaction. His joy spread throughout our family and everyone dissolved into laughter. There is always a moment where “Going Bananas” is worthwhile…an opportunity to be light-hearted, forget the day’s troubles, and fill the world with laughter.

I brought the image to my office at The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital.  It is always met with comments, including:

• Is he real or is he part of the painting?
• So many interesting things are happening, that I don’t know where to look.
• I’m smiling because he’s smiling.
• It’s just so happy, everything about this photo is joyful.

Thanks for viewing my favorite photo of 2023, I hope it brings you joy too.

By Bryan Clifton

This series documents the buzz around a sweet learning and service collaboration between UAMS College of Medicine students, local bee experts and community partners. Bees rule! 

By Dr. Jay Mehta

Jawahar L. “Jay” Mehta, M.D., Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine, and Physiology and Biophysics, and the Stebbins Chair in Cardiology at UAMS. Dr. Mehta serves or has served on the editorial board member of numerous journals including the American Journal of Cardiology; Circulation; Hypertension; Journal of the American College of Cardiology.  Dr. Mehta has been funded numerous times by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Heart Association, and the National Institutes of Health.  In 2017, he was ranked among the top 27 Cardiologists in the nation.

By Stephanie Trotter

Taken in Scotland, near Loch Ness, this photo is about perspective—not the artistic kind, but the attitude kind. Your view could be from the boat looking up, or from the house looking down.

By John Ukadike

John Ukadike D.O., MPH, is a board-certified family physician and a graduate of the UAMS Little Rock Family Medicine residency program. Currently he is completing additional training in emergency medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

By Diane Jarrett

Diane Jarrett created this photo collage that mystically shows her standing on a staircase with the movie comedians Laurel and Hardy – who were there in 1932 filming the Oscar-winning short subject “The Music Box.” The staircase is still in existence in a Los Angeles neighborhood, and Dr. Jarrett visited it in 2015. A “Music Box Steps” street sign (which is featured in the collage) leads fans to the spot where Stan and Ollie struggled in delivering a piano to the top of the stairs.

Diane Jarrett, Ed.D., M.A., is the Director of Communication and Departmental Relations in the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. Outside of her day job, she is well-published as an author of biographical essays about actors from decades ago.