Passing the baton
By MP on Thursday 14 September 2006, 20:37 - Journal - Permalink
Dad had another doctor's appointment today - with the eye specialist, Dr Radius. I could have borne the hour-long wait better had I not dashed away from work I really ought not to be treating so lightly this week. I could have borne it better had it not turned out to be another money-spinning and expectedly unrevealing 'check-up'.
After the appointment I had intended to get some more spare keys cut, some shoes repaired, some bread bought and some cash extracted from a teller machine - all these things for mum and dad. But dad was complaining about a pain in his hip. He fell over today, while he was walking around the block. His complaints, wincing, and flinching got so bad that I made a diversion and parked the car outside the surgery of his GP, Dr Femur. I explained the situation to the receptionist and she made arrangements for us to see the doctor immediately. The doctor examined dad, who has a swelling the size of an orange on the side of his hip, and then told us we would need to get a x-ray done first thing in the morning, after which we were to take the images back for him to see.
Inwardly I groaned. When am I ever going to have the time to get some work done? I called Greg and asked if he could handle the two appointments tomorrow, in my stead. After a bit of rescheduling on his part, he called back and said he could. Hallelujah!
I'm dashing this entry off before heading back to the office. I'll try to get a couple more hours of work in before midnight, and then make an early start tomorrow morning.

Comments
Mike--Oh, yes, we have jobs, too!! They're what we do in between doctors' appointments and grocery shopping and banking. The other day I recalled a time, about four years ago, when I felt kind of aimless--so I applied to graduate school because work wasn't doing it for me. Now I wish I could remember what "aimless" feels like!
Just wanted to mention something I've noticed before but forgotten in the rush of other notices...I love what you do with names and how casual you are about it. If you don't fool with fiction, you should. Sometimes, when I read you, I am reminded of Martin Amis.