Judge Not, Lest…

A visit to the doctor turned into a bout of self-examination.

Appointment Day

The late April Friday was cool and windy. My wife and I headed out to our medical appointments in San Luis Obispo, a reasonable and beautiful drive from our Cambria home.

My session was a follow-up for a recurring problem common to men of a certain age.

I checked in a few minutes before my 3:15 pm appointment and was soon escorted to an exam room. As I started down the hall, I heard a familiar voice prattling away — a voice that caused me to duck my head and turn away quickly. It was a voice of a man I had come to know over the previous few weeks.

And here he was, sharing a confusing explanation for his lateness in getting to the office.

Simon

My first encounter with Simon was not great. He had come into the business center agitated and demanding. It was difficult to figure out what he wanted, and the more I tried, the more combative he became. After a few tense exchanges, it became evident that the whole situation was headed towards the shredder. I’m usually able to work with difficult people, but not that day. Thankfully, a cooler head intervened, defused Simon, and figured out what he wanted.

I later learned that he had a reputation for being aggressively hostile, becoming more disagreeable as he aged. Is he experiencing an acceleration of decline? Perhaps.