• Home
  • About Jim
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Reviews
  • Order
  • Contact
  • Excerpts
JIM WARREN

All Joking Aside

10/8/2021

0 Comments

 

Out of interest and curiosity I attended an Alternative Therapy Conference on back pain. It was an interesting experience to listen to the diverse opinions and the conclusions with which the proponents of the various treatments  described their results. At a break in the conference for lunch, I was seated next to a young woman practitioner of a discipline of which I was not familiar. We engaged in a short conversation as she seemed very pleasant and was surprised when I told her that I was a medical doctor.
       She replied, " Pardon me for saying this, but why is it that medical doctor's handwriting is usually illegible? "
         " Well " I said, " We are taught to write badly. In the second year of the medicine course,  " How to Write Badly 201 is taught. "
           " How can that be ? "  she said credulously.  I waited for a glint of humour in those eyes,  but it didn't appear.
           " Well, "  I said, piling it on, " We can't be held responsible for what we write, since no one can read it but us. "
          "  Good Heavens , " she said,  " I didn't know that ! "  I looked in vain for any sign of amusement in that serious mien.  So up the ante was my desperate way to deal with the matter.  Surely in that stretch she would see that i was joking.
          "  Yes "  I said.  ' And in the course in third year medicine, " How to Mumble 301," will complete the skill set, how to communicate without doing so .  That way  we avoid any trouble such as   " you said this or that. "
         "  Well"  she said, as she rose from the table,  " I'm glad you told me that. "
       I could see that I was in deep trouble. She didn't get it .  My humour fell flat . To disavow it now would be disingenuous, and reaffirm what she wished to believe, even possibly in the first place.  I had just trashed myself and medicine in the face of an attempt at ill-advised humour in the wrong arena. I could imagine the furtive looks of disgust from the assembly of attendees in the coffee hour later.  I slunk away and listened to the rest of the meeting chastened in the shadows.
      As many of my loved ones have said to me before,  "Why can't you ever be serious for once?  "
      
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    For Jim's past posts, check out his old blog here:
    Elderly Eclectic Gentleman Blog

    Archives

    September 2022
    August 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly