I had a doctor's appointment this morning. Driving over to the local hospital gave me a chance to see society in action. As we approach a new year, people tend to think back over the past one. Since we have adopted face masks, social distancing, gotten into arguments about viruses and their presence, it is easy to overlook how much of life continues to click along and expand even. Yes, at the door to the building, I got shot in the head with a laser beam assessing my body temperature and I had to answer questions about the sickness symptoms I might have. Then, I got slapped with a visitor label.
At the reception desk in the dermatology department, I found four people waiting. It turned out that one person of each pair was there for a medical reason and each had someone with them. I think the first couple must have just left the meeting with the doctor and it seemed that it was not easy to find an acceptable date for the next appointment. Between five and ten minutes must have gone into talking back and forth about a date that could serve. Eventually, that couple had completed their business and left. I was surprised that the next couple, an older woman and a young woman, clearly the mother of the two quite young girls hanging about, sitting, running over to Mom, etc. The two women soon showed their relation: a patient and a translator. The older woman was elegantly dressed and used a tablet to make notes, while translating the receptionist's questions and comments. Often, the mother could clearly tell what was being said and how she wanted to respond before the translator had finished talking. I never did hear the talk clearly enough to learn what language was being spoken and translated.
My turn went quickly and almost as soon as I sat down, I was called by a nurse. She took me to an exam room and asked me to sit. The nurse made a little small talk telling me she has a small farm and is always up early to tend to her cows. She said in the spring she will do her usual thing and get other animals, including sheep and turkeys. Wisconsin is a highly agricultural state and our city is surrounded by farms.
A language professor recently told me that the doctor's name meant "deaf" in another language. I mentioned that to the nurse who hadn't heard the idea. Soon, after the doctor came and said that her grandfather had tired of hearing his name mispronounced and altered it a little bit. It used to be a word that meant a kind of bird. I knew the doctor was new to the community and she said people rarely brought the subject up. She was definitely the shapeliest physician I have ever dealt with. When she finished, she said she would "grab some samples of skin products I could use. I told that she had to be less than 30 years of age. My rule is that people under 30 are always "grabbing" things while older people just get them. She said she was happy to be thought younger than 30.
I was impressed that one little trip could involve so many people and subjects. Don't underestimate the richness of life in a small city these days.
