My son has a new doctor (not the butthead guy I previously posted on) whom we were referred to because of his asthma (he’s been getting progressively worse over the last few years). He’s a specialist in asthma and allergies. Everytime I’m in his office I think if only I could capture an image in my mind he’d be the perfect fodder for a book character. It’s hard not to chuckle while talking to him.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great doctor. He’s good at his job, he’s polite and friendly, he listens, I trust him.

He’s an asian man, probably late 40s or early 50s, slightly balding, and all the hair on the top of his head is standing up. Straight up. I think he must rub the top of his head a lot. (It’s not short hair either.) He’s so abrupt, and seemingly forgetful. His talking pattern always makes me pause for a moment before answering. He’s not rude, just… different. He loves to use statements as questions. You’ll talk to him (in answer to a question) and he’ll look off into space thinking, then suddenly shoot off another aburpt statement-question.

Today the Kung Fu Master had X-rays of his sinus’ done. We waited and took them to the doctor. He looked at them (K.F.M. was pretty excited that he got to see his actual x-rays), talked to us, picked up the phone and announced into it, “I’ll bring them right over.” (Nothing else, just that.) Looked at me and said, “The radiologist wants to see your x-rays.” (What I can’t figure out is how that request came to him as there had been no outside contact since we’d handed him the x-rays besides the inexplicable phone call.) Then he begins to walk out of the room.

“We’ll take his x-rays. Follow me.” And he’s gone. He was a good halfway up the hall by the time KFM and I got our stuff together and out the office. I’m watching him walk ahead of me and can see that half of his doctor’s coat’s collar is tucked in under, the right half is folded down properly, but the other half is completely folded under. Which is when I noticed that his entire coat is askew. He seems to be oblivious to this.

He cracks jokes with the radiologist, repeats questions he’d asked in the office (which were questions he’d asked last appointment, but his secretary assures me he remembers appointments with clients from 17 years ago), hands us a second perscription and declares that he’ll see us in two months. He walks us out of the radiologists office, tells us to see his secretary and promptly walks the other way down the hallway. (Where was he going? His office was the opposite direction.)

I wonder what he’s like in his personal life? I told his secretary that he’d be the perfect model for the absent minded professor (except, she swears he’s not at all absent minded – she does agree that he’s very amusing). Needless to say, every appointment is entertaining, and it’s nice to walk out of a doctor’s office chuckling rather than swearing under my breath.

I wish I could introduce you, he’s definitely a guy worth meeting.