Meet Neil Singer. Neil is known to so many in our community as their Doctor.
Q: What inspired you to do what you do?
A: My mother was a nurse in the Navy and then a home care nurse. When I was growing up, Jewish boys in New York could be a doctor, dentist, lawyer, or an accountant. I wasn’t good with numbers, I was not interested in the law but I was always fascinated with science. I enjoyed the prospect of helping people, it was a natural thing.
Q: How long have you lived here in Sedona?
A: My wife and I have been here for 26 years, we moved in October 1996.
Q: Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met in Sedona?
A: There are many interesting people I have met. Four rocket scientists who designed the space shuttle. The retired four-star army general. I have a lot of patients who’ve owned businesses, who’ve been CEOs of businesses, and who are still on boards of companies. I met Donald O’Connor, who was a patient for a while. I can’t say there’s one person other than you, Jonelle, who really stands out.
Q: Have you always liked art?
A: Yes, I’ve always liked art. About ten years ago at a Passover Seder our friend asked if he could bring along his friend who was an art dealer. The friend sold art right out of the trunk of his car. He came over to our Passover Seder with his trunk full of art. We bought what he had, it was colorful and fun.
I like colors. I like fun things that make you feel good. If I’m going to spend money on something, I want to be able to enjoy seeing and feeling it. It needs to inspire emotion out of other people. A lot of my art in my office is pretty, it’s eclectic, but it’s all abstract. It’s all very colorful and cohesive. I wanted my office really to be a professional yet playful place.
Q: What’s something on your bucket list?
A: It would be to travel. Two years ago we went to Turkey, Israel, and Jordan. I think if there’s probably one place now, I’d want to go to, it would be the Middle East. I’d like to go back to Israel and Jerusalem in the old Walled City, but I think I really want to see Petra.
Q: What’s your favorite music?
A: I like an eclectic group of music. I like The Grateful Dead because they’re playful and I think they’re fun and they elicit emotion. I like Jethro Tull because he was big in the eighties when I was growing up. I like Dire Straits, I like The Cars. I like Blondie, I like The Sisters of Mercy, and I like Allman Brothers. It depends on my mood, but I love the Grateful Dead.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in Sedona, aside from your work?
A: The one activity that I do when I’m not working is hiking, I hike every Saturday morning. I have some really good friends who have taken me under their wings and taken me hiking all over the place. They’ve taken me to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and we’ve gone to Supai. I just love getting out in Nature. If you ask me, what do I love about Sedona, It’s the outdoors, it’s the red rocks and the fact you can hike right into the red rocks and experience the beautiful views. My friends know the places where tourists don’t necessarily go. In this day and age there are of a lot of hikers and tourists and overflowing parking lots. We go to some out-of-the-way places. So hiking is my passion.
Q: Please tell us about the books in your office? Is that something you do for special trips?
A: The books are done by my friend, Linda. I hike with Linda and Tom Pallas, they’re two of my very good friends. Linda is the one who loves putting these books together. She’s the most organized person I’ve ever met. She collects pictures from all of us. In the books there are pictures that come from different people who attended each trip. She organizes the photos, adds commentary and then puts the book together. Anytime we’ve gone away, she’s put a book together, even when we’ve gone on short hikes like, Grand Falls, which is outside of Flagstaff.
Q: Is there something interesting about you that you would like people to know?
A: Despite my outward veneer, I may seem sort of callous and direct but I want people to be happy and healthy. I’m a very sensitive person, I care about people. As a doctor, I feel badly when people suffer, I feel bad when people in Sedona can’t get medical care because I think healthcare is a human right.
Q: How would one of your closest friends describe you?
A: I am direct, I speak my mind if I see a wrong, I’ll talk about it. I am very casual, I never get dressed up, I’m very down-to-earth, and I’m always professional but I love making people feel comfortable. I can be impulsive.
Q: What three words come to mind when you think about home?
A: Family, comfort, and color. It sounds weird, but we have a very colorful home.
