It’s funny how the mind works when it is remembering incidents. For the most part, I think people recall memories based on associations with circumstances, events and even feelings. This is a subject which is always current in our house since both myself and my husband struggle with memory. Yet I marvel at the stuff I recall on a daily basis and what reminds me of these things and the timing of the remembrances.
If you know me personally, you know I have locs. I refuse to call them dreadlocks because that name/label has connotations that I am not willing to get into at this time, but by way of explanation, dreadlocks are traditionally associated with the Rastafarian religion whose followers believe (among other things) that to comb or cut the hair is an insult to Ras (or God). In my case, it has nothing to do with religion, and I do not claim to be Rastafarian and never have. That aside, I do have locs. The difference being that mine are groomed whilst dreadlocks are simply allowed to grow in whatever fashion it chooses. Locs say a great deal about a person when you think about it: it takes great patience, perseverance and a less-than-normal dose of vanity to grow them. I have been growing mine for near 6 years now – my hair is pretty long.
That said, we went grocery shopping one night. Walking out of the store behind my husband, and walking pretty fast, and my ponytail thumped the middle of my back repeatedly, which reminded me of how long my hair had gotten, which in turn reminded me of an incident at the doctor’s office a few weeks ago. I had gone in to get checked out for a fever that would not go away and the P.A. came into the room with a mask over her mouth to examine me. I remember feeling isolated and scorned and telling myself that it was not personal that the staff had to protect themselves and their other patients in the event that I was contagious; especially with all the panic surrounding the H1N1 virus that’s been going around. And what stood out most from that visit, even after thought of H1N1 was whilst the doctor probed and poked and prodded, she blurted out “How long have you been growing your hair?”
You have to admit, it IS an odd question to ask a patient with suspected flu whilst you examine her. It took me by surprise and I was speechless for a few minutes whilst I allowed my brain to stutter it’s way into comprehension and then the formulation of a response. In the meantime, the P.A. was understandably apologetic. There are indeed some people who might be offended by such a question. While I wasn’t offended in the least, I did feel a bit amused at the circumstances.
The coming together of circumstances is what helped this incident stay with me. Yet sometimes it is a feeling or an event or a touch or a smile.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
[...] Doctors and Hairstyles [...]