Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov!
Ever since I started working in hospitals, I noted how nurses in places tend to be the same age and have similar names. It's either Cathy (sometimes, Kathy), Donna or Patricia. I always figured, if you stand in the middle of a floor, and say "Cathy!" really loud, 3 nurses will turn around - and probably 1 speech therapist.
The other day, I was trying to make my way through the extraordinarily poorly designed and over-crowded nurses' station on the 6th floor, when I found myself blocked by a wall of man: two surgical interns, Ike and Gil, were in my path. They're each about 6 feet 7 inches, hugely muscular (Ike's arm is my thigh, but with muscle), bald, very black, and wearing the same exact blue scrubs and blue surgical caps.
Making my way past them, I ended up right between them, and said, "Jeez, you guys are so tall, I'm craning and straining my neck just to look at you!" In my head I thought, "I should make a wish."
They answered, almost in union: "We're interchangeable too. They always confuse us."
I laughed.
"Weeeell, you know, all black people look alike, " said Ike.
"I don't know anything!" said I. "I know who you are, and which is which!"
"Yea we all look alike. But that's ok," said Gil. "Understandably. Cause we'll come up to a nurse and say, 'Hey, Cathy... Cathy? Karen? Donna?' We don't know who's who..."
The other day, I was trying to make my way through the extraordinarily poorly designed and over-crowded nurses' station on the 6th floor, when I found myself blocked by a wall of man: two surgical interns, Ike and Gil, were in my path. They're each about 6 feet 7 inches, hugely muscular (Ike's arm is my thigh, but with muscle), bald, very black, and wearing the same exact blue scrubs and blue surgical caps.
Making my way past them, I ended up right between them, and said, "Jeez, you guys are so tall, I'm craning and straining my neck just to look at you!" In my head I thought, "I should make a wish."
They answered, almost in union: "We're interchangeable too. They always confuse us."
I laughed.
"Weeeell, you know, all black people look alike, " said Ike.
"I don't know anything!" said I. "I know who you are, and which is which!"
"Yea we all look alike. But that's ok," said Gil. "Understandably. Cause we'll come up to a nurse and say, 'Hey, Cathy... Cathy? Karen? Donna?' We don't know who's who..."
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