View from a Hospital Waiting Room

I recently spent a whole very long day at Deaconess Medical Center while Keith had a procedure to improve his atrial fibrilation. Whitney came and spent the day with me and we had lots of time to people watch. Interesting places, hospitals. Interesting people of all kinds.

We watched several families come and go in the cardiac surgery waiting room. We also watched two patients who were being closely guarded by police types. We saw a plethera of pregnant people waiting to get ultrasounds. There was the very odd little man who made us just a teeny uncomfortable as he waited in the same waiting room with us. He was probably 40, with his mother, drinking a LOT of vitamin water and searching for People magazines. There weren't any, so he settled for a gaming magazine. He was up and down about twenty times before they called his name. His mother was busy watching Judge Judy. When they did finally come to get him, he took ALL of his Vitamin water with him. There was a very cute older couple. She was a little unsteady and he was very patient and caring, helping her at every turn - very sweet. There were hospital workers who were talking about losing their jobs. There was one girl who spent her whole shift wheeling a cart back and forth from one area to another. She was clearly bored and talked to anyone who would listen. There was a large group of teenagers who descended upon the cafeteria at lunchtime. They didn't appear to be workers or visiting anyone - maybe a field trip?

Just a little snippet that probably reflects the world in the bigger picture. I think it's sometimes good to be a captive audience and just take in the people around you. It made me wonder about their stories. It made me think sometimes it would be good to take the time to ask.