theatre of the absurd

while i was waiting to see my ultrasound technician the other day (no, this is not another post about my health woes) i noticed a pair of letter-sized poster signs attached to the front of the receptionist's desk. the first featured a downloaded photograph of a cell phone inside a bordered oval with a diagonal red line running through the device. fair enough. obviously mobile use is highly discouraged in the office. kinda makes sense. something to do with all that sensitive medical imaging equipment lying about.

it was the second poster that left me a little perplexed, though. it, too, featured a downloaded photo of a popular cultural icon. the image: a snapshot of a well-balanced meal featuring a hamburger, french fries and coca-cola, once again framed within a bordered oval. but conspicuously absent from this second image was the familiar diagonal red line cutting a swath through the cardiac arrest combo platter. (i will presume that the diagonal red line was unintentionally omitted from the final draft of the posted signage.)

so here's the thing. let's suppose that one day you find yourself seated in the anteroom of a medical imaging office anxiously awaiting your mri or ct scan or ultrasound. as your eyes dart about the office, you happen to catch sight of the pair of signs previously alluded to. the first sign leaves little doubt as to its intended message. a cell phone traversed by a diagonal red line. easy enough. cell phone use is prohibited within the office.

then you spot the second sign. an image of a hamburger, french fries and soda. but wait. no red line this time. the cell phone poster featured a red line. but not so for the burger, fries and soda. hmmm. and so at that moment you begin a feverish mental effort to accurately recall your doctor's instructions. the instructions delivered to you by your health care provider only a few weeks earlier when your present appointment was first set up. you were likely advised at the time to either refrain from, or partake in, certain food and drink on the day before the x-ray in order to prepare for your test.

but now you suddenly find yourself seated in the clinic waiting room and what do you see before you but a sign that actually seems to encourage the copious consumption of fatty foods. after all, you don't see a red line slicing through the supersized meal. and so for a moment you catch yourself wondering aloud, "was i supposed to load up on carbs before my mri today?"

ok, not really. but still...

"doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." - voltaire

listening to vinyl 95.3 classic hits fm radio this afternoon with seven in the back seat, i learned that, to my surprise, the kid had yet to come across this pop music standard until today. imagine that.