Sunday, January 07, 2007

dialog snippet

I've spent most of the last few weeks in the hospital. Lots of stories there but I don't want to tell most of them. I will share this...a snippet of dialog as best as I can remember it. Little pieces of life like this are where stories are born, and small slices of the human condition are far more enlightening than all of the great philosophies.



The doctor was a cardiologist-Pakistani or Indian-very dark red-brown skin. He seemed to have a "matte" finish-no depth to his skin tone-a kind of spray painted look. He was questioning an elderly white lady, as translucently white as he was matte dark.

"So," he said, "your heart-it hurts when you walk?" His voice rose and fell in a predicable, sing-song accent. Pakistani or Indian.

She shook her head. "No. When it hurts I can't walk.." she shook her head and frayed Grey hair spilled from her elastic plastic cap.

"So," he went on, "you would say it does not hurt when you walk?"

"No, I only walk when it don't hurt. But that isn't quite it." A woman, possibly her daughter, patted her hand. She said nothing.

The doctor chuckled but was clearly becoming exasperated at her being so contrary.

"I don't walk if it hurts. If I walk and it starts to hurt, I sit down. If I'm sitting down and it starts to hurt, I don't walk."

He raised his clip board, "So...I'll put 'no' for that."

She sighed and laiy her head back.

5 Comments:

At Sunday, January 7, 2007 at 9:07:00 PM EST, Blogger Stewart Sternberg (half of L.P. Styles) said...

Welcome back. Nice little slice of dialogue. The hospital is always good for stories. Makes one want to just hang out there for the hell of it. Or not. Hope to see you Thursday.

 
At Monday, January 8, 2007 at 4:16:00 AM EST, Blogger LoveRundle said...

lol. I like it, but it leads to so many questions. This would make a great short story or long story, either way, it's got my interest.

Hope everything is okay.

-Wishing you the best.

 
At Monday, January 8, 2007 at 7:07:00 AM EST, Blogger Susan Miller said...

Thanks for the snippet. I had worried about you and am most happy to hear that you are okay. At least your fingers are...so that you can type, of course.

I wish for you doctors that take time to understand what you are saying.

 
At Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 8:12:00 PM EST, Blogger Pythia3 said...

Hi Jon . . . I'm glad you are on the mend . . . I too, have been surrounded in illness and hospitals and doctors. I am in bed recovering from surgery right now. My son is finally well from his bad bout with pneumonia - and he is back at school, WOW! What a holiday!
Hope to see you soon - Thursday, perhaps, if you are up to it and I am recovered.
xo Lindy

 
At Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 12:00:00 PM EST, Blogger miller580 said...

Boy can I relate. My first time living in Tampa I got really sick and had no idea what was going on. A friend recommended his doctor and his Indian accent was so thick I had to bring my wife to help translate. However, even though there was a language barrier he was a top notch doctor who had me back on my feet in two days.

 

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