Field Trip
I was fortunate to be a favorite with the nurses. I’m nice to them. They are nice back. It makes life so much easier. I learned to be nice and polite as an intern. Nurses, otherwise, could make life hell. When I rotated onto my pediatric neurosurgery rotation the night nurses were nice enough to have a going away party for me. They didn’t wake me for the party. They wanted to let me sleep. Imagine that!
In Jeddah the nurses invited me on a field trip. A few husbands… and me – they insisted I ride in the front of the bus. So far this is my only field trip though they threaten to organize another. For sure they have a sense of humor. And they like to live large.
One nurse was ecstatic to ride a camel. “It was something I promised myself before the age of thirty.” My kids rode a camel in the Bronx Zoo when they were small. So far I’m waiting for my first ride…not.
Enterprise
Great Adventure. There is an amusement park coupled with an animal park in New Jersey. One hot humid summer day, we drove to the park with a couple of friends. A little wine was consumed en route. I drove and didn’t drink. The first ride as we entered the parkwas the Enterprise. My wife ever the good sport climbed into the ride with our friend Christine. Christine is the one with sunglasses. Well, no one told us what this ride was about. I knew better than to get on – motion sickness. It starts horizontally and spins. Once your red corpuscles are centrifugally plastered to the floor, the ride goes vertical. Yeah, it’s a very dizzy ride. Well getting off the ride, you would never know that my wife was ill. She just smiled wanly and told us to move on while she rested on the nearest bench. Her story continues. The park does not allow patrons to rest prone on the benches. It’s bad for business. So moments after my wife went horizontal on the bench, the park ambulance crew found her and carted her off to the aid station where relief from the humid hot weather awaited on a cot with crisp cool white sheets. Hours later we retrieved her to ride the kid’s wild west roller coaster. It was tame enough and she was eternally grateful for the respite from any more centrifugally challenging rides. The lesson learned: don’t drink wine and ride the Enterprise. Above all, never ever ride the Enterprise.
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