By Margi Washburn
Those of us who grew up watching TV doctors may have come to believe, or at least hope for the experience of having a Dr. Welby care about our well-being. I know Robert Young played that part, and I also remember Medical Center and Ben Casey, with their respective actors. There’s a problem, though, if we expect real life to mirror TV life.
When we walk into our doctors’ offices we are more likely to see no less than three signs, though each are worded a bit differently, that inform us that payment is due at the time of service. Now take note: time of service does not necessarily mean that you will find yourself in the second waiting room at the time you were told, or that you will even see the doctor.
Yet you’d better have that insurance card and your co-payment before you leave. For your convenience, there are also a plethora of credit cards that will be accepted, and their bright, colorful logos are plastered everywhere so you won’t miss them. Credit cards and I have a very, very bad history so whenever I see those happy little symbols, I want to run screaming into traffic. Of course that would mean a doctor visit, and I don’t want to do that either.
Lawyer dramas tend to instill the same kinds of expectations. Just like we hope our doctors will chase us down and make sure we take our meds, we want our lawyers to believe everything we (or our loved ones) say, and we want the best defense our pitiful amount of money can buy. Golly, even those clients on TV who have no money get some astonishing and free defense attorneys. Those of us in the real world who need a good lawyer often find ourselves going nearly blind perusing the phone book and wondering if we’ll ever land a Ben Matlock or Perry Mason.
I think my life reflects a comedy sitcom. We watch Everybody Loves Raymond reruns, and I can’t tell you how many times that show hit some buttons. There’s the rivalry between brothers, the misunderstandings between in-laws, especially with Raymond’s wife and his mother. Hubby and I watch favorite episodes every week.
Whether you watched Seinfeld or not, I’d bet your paycheck that you’ve had a Seinfeld moment. There’s the friend who mooches, relationship issues, trying and failing to meet up with friends at the movies, matchmaking, waiting to be seated at a restaurant, lousy jobs and bosses, weird co-workers. There are dozens of moments like these that our family identifies with, and we’re not ashamed to admit it.
Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe we shouldn’t identify too closely with any television character because we then expect we can identify with them all. Missing a friend at a movie isn’t funny, matchmaking can get you into trouble, waiting to be seated in a restaurant can make you cranky, and lousy jobs can bring a whole lot of stress that none of us need.
In my real life, I know quite a few excellent and compassionate doctors and nurses. If you’ve had a bad experience waiting for the doctor, join the club. We’ve all been there, but I’ve found that most of the time, the wait was worth it. The frustration went away and took my headache with it once my questions were answered and the prescription was written.
Life is going to give us all sorts of surprises, whether we want them or not. If we keep our heads in the real world, our friends and families will help us cope with those unexpected moments like no one else can. Not even Dr. Welby or Perry Mason.
Those of us who grew up watching TV doctors may have come to believe, or at least hope for the experience of having a Dr. Welby care about our well-being. I know Robert Young played that part, and I also remember Medical Center and Ben Casey, with their respective actors. There’s a problem, though, if we expect real life to mirror TV life.
When we walk into our doctors’ offices we are more likely to see no less than three signs, though each are worded a bit differently, that inform us that payment is due at the time of service. Now take note: time of service does not necessarily mean that you will find yourself in the second waiting room at the time you were told, or that you will even see the doctor.
Yet you’d better have that insurance card and your co-payment before you leave. For your convenience, there are also a plethora of credit cards that will be accepted, and their bright, colorful logos are plastered everywhere so you won’t miss them. Credit cards and I have a very, very bad history so whenever I see those happy little symbols, I want to run screaming into traffic. Of course that would mean a doctor visit, and I don’t want to do that either.
Lawyer dramas tend to instill the same kinds of expectations. Just like we hope our doctors will chase us down and make sure we take our meds, we want our lawyers to believe everything we (or our loved ones) say, and we want the best defense our pitiful amount of money can buy. Golly, even those clients on TV who have no money get some astonishing and free defense attorneys. Those of us in the real world who need a good lawyer often find ourselves going nearly blind perusing the phone book and wondering if we’ll ever land a Ben Matlock or Perry Mason.
I think my life reflects a comedy sitcom. We watch Everybody Loves Raymond reruns, and I can’t tell you how many times that show hit some buttons. There’s the rivalry between brothers, the misunderstandings between in-laws, especially with Raymond’s wife and his mother. Hubby and I watch favorite episodes every week.
Whether you watched Seinfeld or not, I’d bet your paycheck that you’ve had a Seinfeld moment. There’s the friend who mooches, relationship issues, trying and failing to meet up with friends at the movies, matchmaking, waiting to be seated at a restaurant, lousy jobs and bosses, weird co-workers. There are dozens of moments like these that our family identifies with, and we’re not ashamed to admit it.
Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe we shouldn’t identify too closely with any television character because we then expect we can identify with them all. Missing a friend at a movie isn’t funny, matchmaking can get you into trouble, waiting to be seated in a restaurant can make you cranky, and lousy jobs can bring a whole lot of stress that none of us need.
In my real life, I know quite a few excellent and compassionate doctors and nurses. If you’ve had a bad experience waiting for the doctor, join the club. We’ve all been there, but I’ve found that most of the time, the wait was worth it. The frustration went away and took my headache with it once my questions were answered and the prescription was written.
Life is going to give us all sorts of surprises, whether we want them or not. If we keep our heads in the real world, our friends and families will help us cope with those unexpected moments like no one else can. Not even Dr. Welby or Perry Mason.
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