Who does my French-born dentist think she is, that as I recline in her chair discussing my upcoming treatment, and as my saliva is being suctioned, that she gets to ask aloud "which President of France was it that died of lymphoma?"
And whom does she think I am for answering (correctly) Georges Pompidou?*
Do all French people presume that all Americans have memorized French presidents and their cause of death?
Maybe her waiting area had magazines packed with fun French facts, but the issues of Foreign Affairs and Paris Match (from 1974) must have been well-hidden behind People and Men's Journal. Besides, we were all reading our phones.
And without missing a beat or giving me any credit (and never asking how I know any presidents of France), she then moved on to ask, "yes, but what kind of Lymphoma?" and "it involves large star-shaped cells and has a Swedish name"
Admittedly, no, I was not aware of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, or its reputation for scything down 1970s Heads of State, whether the last Shah of Iran or Gaullist presidents with plumbing-on-the-outside memorials.
Nevertheless, glowing with pride at a trivia answer got me through a thorough second cleaning followed by a grinding and re-compositing of a lower right molar.
I like my new dentist.
*The name Georges sounds even Frencher and sincerely guttural when you can roll your r as your uvula dances in a pool of bubbling saliva at the back of your mouth. They should teach this in high school.
1 comment:
Well - I think she should not have said that to you, even if it gave you the opportunity to provide the correct answer. Yikes!
Edwina
Post a Comment