"The disease is beyond my practice." (Macbeth)

.....I had an appointment with my cardiologist the other day which was scheduled for 11:15am. Rho and I arrived in plenty of time at 11:14am. We were called in at 11:25 by a nurse, who weighed me even with my heavy shoes on, which I felt, was unfair. Then we were ushered through a maze of corridors until we finally arrived at a claustrophobic room where she took my blood pressure. She then went over every medication that I take with Rho, since I have no idea about the meds I take; she's committed them to memory. The nurse then left the room saying we would see the doctor, "shortly"; I replied, "Yeah, that's what they all say." We made this appointment specifically for the purpose of getting all the results of tests while I was in the hospital, so we could find out if anyone knew why I had severe chest pains (#10) last Saturday night. I had x-rays, an ultra sound, a catscan, a stress test, and whatever I can't remember. Well, "shortly" went by very quickly and we found ourselves waiting in that room until 12:15pm! One hour past my appointment time. I found that unacceptable, and I told Rho that I was leaving. And she followed me out the door, never to return. Stay tuned.

.....When we first went into this cardiology facility where four doctors had banded together to treat ailing citizens, the office was filled with patients using canes, walkers, scooters, mopeds, & bicycles--or whatever vehicles they needed to help them get there.

.....Before we left, we asked the nurse at the front desk what happened to our doctor. The reply was the standard, "Oh, he had an emergency." I then asked the next question, "Well, why didn't someone have the courtesy to come to our room to inform us of that, so that we could get out of there and make another appointment?" There could not be any response to that question, of course, because no other excuse was available. I told Rho to find another cardiologist--not that they're in short supply down here.

.....Turning my attention now from doctors to judges, at least for a few words, I've heard some complaints from people about the fact that all our Supreme Court judges are Ivy League trained, and claiming that someone from a lesser school should be chosen. On our court, I'm guessing five from Harvard, three from Yale and one from Columbia. That's definitely an elitist group. So why the complaint? Is there something amiss about having a smart judge on the court?

.....If you needed a doctor to do a heart transplant for you, would you opt for one who graduated magna cum laude from Benedict Arnold U. or one from Princeton, summa cum laude who did an internship at Cleveland Clinic? It makes sense to me to have the brightest people in the positions where they are needed--at least that's what Plato taught. I am satisfied if I can find the brightest and finest trained doctors, the fairest judge to decide my prison term, the highly schooled hair stylist, a top-notch quarterback on my team, an inspiring teacher, an experienced and skillful pilot on my aircraft, and a brilliant wife! Those are the people I want in my life. So far, I've been lucky. Get on the bandwagon.