the Doctor
I wan’t elaborate on why I had to go to the Dr. or what kind of Dr. but I have to say that it’s always a rather painstaking experience for me. Now, I have to tell you that my Doctor is very far away from my place, in a very sketchy neighborhood of Humboldt Park (the kind where creepy guys in cars pull over and try to talk to you. Meh, maybe he was just being friendly), with no parking lot (that one is typical for Chicago though and you can find street parking usually.) The building also looks condemned. And when I say condemned, I mean it. There’s absolutely no sign to let you know that it is a Dr’s office and I actually thought they finally had moved their office because of the men tearing apart the inside.
Yeah, they were still treating patients. I waited for awhile in this super claustrophobic hallway with other overheating people and every time a Dr. had to get by, she always ended up bumping my knees in the passing. Between this and the little girl with her toy cell phone twirling around, it made it difficult to get any reading done whatsoever.
And, what you have to love is the series of waiting games. If you think of it visually, it’s a kin to a series of tunnels that seemingly have no end no matter how fast the train you are on is moving. The time kept passing in slow nyquil-ish doses amidst the plywalls and random spurts of toy noise.
After you succeed in passing through the first tunnel, you are asked to step into another one. And you wait for the nurse. I was feeling a bit embarrassed actually because while she was weighing me, taking my blood pressure and all of that, she was asking me some personal questions and both doors to that office were open. (I think the little dancing girl was hearing some things!) Then, I went into a third tunnel where I waited for the Dr. Now, she’s the best part because she’s gentle and she referred to me today as slender. (I don’t have very good reasons for going to the places I go to but I do have reasons)
Now that I was through the tunnel and the door was closed, I kept thinking about how there’s this little awkward dance that patients and Dr’s do during the strip period. Oh, you know, when they tell you to put on that stylish white gown of theirs just for a few completely unbearable moments. They leave so you can put it on and then they knock a bit first after a couple of moments-are you ready? Type of thing…Sometimes I wonder how long it might take the Dr. to grow absolutely stark raving mad if I just kept saying, “No, not quite ready yet.” and continued reading. That would be subjecting them to some tunnel vision, though, and they have important things to do with their day.
And, I know this is weird, but let’s face it, I am a little weird. But I get to thinking about the way the clothes are on the chair. See, I used to fold my clothes and place them neatly on the chair. This isn’t because I am a neat person at all, mind you. It’s only because I was quite preoccupied and concerned with the Dr. thinking I was tidy. Now, I just lump them altogether mini-heap style. Today, I thought of what an interesting sociology study it might be if sociologists were to follow ten people that folded their clothes regularly at Dr’s offices and ten people that slovenly heaped them and see what they came up with…you know, other characteristics about these people. I’d volunteer to be a subject but because I am fairly inconsistent, I would throw off their research most indefinitely. Maybe that means I have no real identity when it comes to the social sciences.
Tomorrow, I have to take Spooky-cat to his Dr. and he hates it. I don’t know why, really. It’s not like he has to wait in the tunnels of a condemned building. He has a fufu Lincoln Park Dr.
Anyhow, when it was over I spent some nice time with Michelle and had a good swim…was able to feel those good deep diaphramatic breaths right before kicking off and swimming along the very bottom of the deep end. It felt great. Michelle often brings a friend with her who has it all together (I swear she has God’s number programmed into her cell phone) and I was thinking about how I truly wish I could be like that sometimes but when I’m at the very bottom, limbs moving in unison, I do feel all together and weightless.
(now playing: Barbara Kolb: Solitaire for Piano and Vibes)