The Office-MAY 14

   I sit there waiting for my appointment.  The waiting room is spacious and comfortable, not surprising since the building is new construction.  There are close to a dozen people sitting there, some of them the patient's companion. No one waits for long, also not surprising because there are 29 doctors and almost as many PA's in the practice, with more in the process of joining.  All but one of the other people present are wearing shorts.  The day is warm, but not oppressively so. I speculate that maybe they want free access to their knees, though they can't all be there for that, and besides I see none of the telltale scars like the one concealed by my long pants, (chosen to be loose enough to easily slip up above the knee.)  None of those present looks that good in shorts either, again not surprising as most are in the category where  aging bones and joints have caused them to be there.  The younger sports-injured patients presumably schedule their appointments after school or work hours, and acute injuries are treated at another facility.  I have the thought that the doctors must derive much more satisfaction out of restoring use and mobility in the young where their orthopedic artistry has active use  and longevity  rather than being confined to the dust heap of eternity after a relatively short period of time.  One patient I know who has a pair of artificial hips has said when she is cremated, she will bequeath the implants to her children, to be used as bookends; that is if they are not too badly charred.