After the Scan

I had just finished emitting gamma rays at a detector that had been scanning me for 45 minutes. He had just finished whatever he came for, too. He was old and in an electric wheelchair, so I stood aside while his daughter opened the inner and then the outer doors of the waiting room.

The sun was shining brightly, and so we had to squint as we made our way across the parking lot. His wheelchair was moving slowly, so I passed him quickly but then slowed down, noticing his shoes.

Mighty shiny shoes you got there, I said.

What? he asked, looking up at me with a startled look on his face and a beige hearing aid in his ear.

Nice shoes! I said, pointing to his feet.

He smiled. Military! Ex-military! And then he thrust out his hand and introduced himself. Johnson! he said.

David Hasan, I said, shaking his hand.

Good to meet you! People aren't usually so friendly around here, he said.

I chuckled and put my hand on his shoulder. Good to meet you.

11:25:36 PM   permalink: []   feedback:   comments: []  

Bone Scan

I showed up for a bone scan at 7:45am. When tech came into the room, she had a cylindrical canister in her hand. It held the syringe and needle -- the isotope, she called it.

Will I glow in the dark? I asked as she looked for a vein.

My face was expressionless since it was so early in the day, and I was worried she might not get the joke.

Probably, she said, with an equally expressionless look on hers.

11:06:50 PM   permalink: []   feedback:   comments: []