Lary Bloom
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Friday, November 04, 2005
Organ Donor
The woman in line behind me, also waiting for the attentions of the clerks at the Department of Motor Vehicles, felt it necessary to fill the time by accounting to strangers every ailment that has distressed her over the last dozen years. As the line was not moving very quickly -- why should it in a government office? -- we were treated to a tour Gray's Anatomy.As a matter of principle, I did not turn around to look at the woman. I tried to imagine her appearance simply from the medical litany. That she hadn't yet contracted Lyme Disease, a revelation she hesitated to offer but finally did, made it possible for a twelve or fifteen second pause in the monologue when, presumably, she could think of anything to say.
Silence is a rare commodity in this world, and I have noticed that people who have the least to say are the ones who persist in their blabbering. We are, however, all guilty of filling the air with nothingness, or worse than nothingness.
When I finally reached the window, the clerk asked me if, for my drivers licence renewal, I wanted to identify myself as an organ donor. "Interesting question," I said. She said, "Is that a yes?" Not wanting to argue, I nodded. "That's a good thing you're doing," she said.
On the drive home, I wondered if I could make an exception to the organ donations -- only to people who promise to keep one particular body part shut.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 2:01 PM
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