High standards

March 26th, 2024

I was a captive. Quite literally. I was in a dentist’s chair lying prone with my head below the plane of my legs, with my mouth open, and the dentist and his assistant doing their work there. I couldn't just get up and walk away. I couldn't just say something either. I tried grunting, but that was interpreted only as my contribution and my agreement to the dental procedure being done. The problem was the dentist himself and his assistant. It wasn't just their constant chatter, but the problem was what exactly that chatter was about. It was 45 minutes of pure and unadulterated gossip…

I heard about the divorce of another dentist working there. How she is overreacting and how she has changed since that said divorce. I heard about the Tinder adventures of another dentist, and how he is getting addicted to constantly finding new flings. I heard about the business failure of the spouse of yet another dentist from that clinic and how everybody knew from the start it wouldn’t work, but everybody kept quiet. I heard about problems with the new receptionist and how she can't keep the clinic running smoothly, but since she is related to one of the owners, nobody can say anything about it…

I didn't like the 45 minutes I spent there. As I said — I was hardly in a position to say anything or do anything. And to be honest — should I have said or done anything? It was just gossip, nasty and personal, but about people, I don't know. It was unbecoming for a place like a dental clinic. At least that is my opinion, and apparently, others think otherwise.