Medical Forms & Condition of the Mind

Arrived at the Endodontics Office to finally get the root canal I had managed to put off for several

months and as usual there were forms to fill out so the receptionist handed them to me and I sat

down to fill them out. There were all of the standard questions and when I got to the section about

"The Condition of ______" - heart, liver, and then it said "Mind" - Ha! laughed to myself then

proceeded to mess with the receptionist about the validity of that question, "The Mind" - "Can one

 really ever answer that question? I asked jokingly ...and we had a good laugh!

A few minutes later another patient arrived and she gathered her forms, sat down to fill them out

and when she was handing them to the receptionist, she asked "How do I explain the problem with

my teeth?" ...then went into a ten minute discussion how another dentist left a endodontic tool in

an adjacent tooth that was perfectly good and she had been to other dentists and they said this was

 the place to get it taken care of but she was 'NOT going to have a root canal' on a perfectly

good tooth.

Now I was listening to this woman go on and on about her problem from another dentist but she was

definitly 'NOT going to have a Root Canal!" - (we are in a Root Canal Specialist Office and he does

not do General Dentistry, Gums or Extractions - Only Root Canals) ....geez, I say to myself what a

freaking idiot?

So this lady is working over the receptionist who by the way was handling this very professionally.

finally in a huff she tears up forms and leaves the office and in a shakey voice apologizes to everyone

 in the waiting room for being so emotional.

After she is gone, I lean over to the receptionist and say "That question about the Mind maybe

more pertinent than I thought", ...and then we had a Really Good Laugh! 

Today I gave God a ride to the SAVS-A-LOT and attended a Mexican Funeral

This Morning at work our young intern asked "Where would we keep the new razor blades?"
I said "I keep them in my truck for when I am out on a job, I'll go get you one."
As I walked to my truck there was a crippled black man walking towards me,
we met, shook hands and he asked me, "Where is the SAVS-A-LOT?"
I pointed way down the hill and said,  "It's across the street from that busy intersection and to the right."
I looked at the little old man and his cane and asked,  "Do you want a ride and do you have a way back?"
He said,  "Yes, I am meeting someone there."
...so I loaded him up and drove him to the SAVS-A-LOT.
As I drove away I saw Rachel was looking through the office window with a question mark on her face,
"He was only going to get a razor blade out of his truck."
Mr. Marshall Batiste, born in Opelousas, Louisiana, lived in LA and came to Marshall 10 years ago when he was young.
He had to be at least 91 years old.
I dropped him off at the front door of the SAVS-A-LOT, and he said,  "God bless you son",
I said "You too."
Got back to the shop and walked in with the razor blade and Rachel asked where I went
and I said, "I just gave GOD a ride to the SAVS-A-LOT."

.....later in the afternoon,

My neighbor Josea's brother died suddenly in an auto accident and I attended the funeral.
I did not know his brother, but Josea is my neighbor, my friend and my brother.
Family and friends were dressed mostly in black, there were tears, the same as most funerals.
The service was in Spanish and while.....Yo no hablo español bien, I understood every word that was said.
At the grave side service more words were spoken and then they lowered the casket into the grave while Hail Mary's were chanted in Spanish, the truck with very clean dirt filled the hole. Very sad for someone I had never met. I am sure that sadness was for my friend Josea and the loss of his brother. Powerful images and in a look back on today I don't know which of the two experiences, giving GOD a ride to the SAVS-A-LOT or shedding tears at a Mexican funeral had the most power but what I do know is that GOD is all powerful and I have been humbled in his prescence.


Dennis O'Bryant
2006-4-28

"you know yur a redneck when...experience"