What Time is It???

There is something I try to avoid at all costs...there's never anything good associated with it...and yet, most everyone in a modern society finds it inescapable...

VISITING HOURS...

Institutions that are filled with pain, have visiting hours...I'm not sure if assigning when people can come share your pain...reduces pain...maybe it just allows the pain to be spread amongst the many...why keep it all to yourself...

Let's see...hospitals, rehab centers, nursing homes, residential treatment centers, prisons, group homes, orphanages...those worlds all revolve around visiting hours, don't they? Those are all the ones that come to my mind anyway...maybe there's some nice warm fuzzy ones out there that make you say, "awwwwwww..." when you hear, "visiting hours."

My last 2 days have been spent looking at the clock waiting for visiting hours, looking to see how many hours are left of visiting hours, and saying farewells at the close of visiting hours...

A friend, a couple of nights ago was experiencing stabbing chest pains and a burning sensation in his left arm...Of course, we've been programmed to know that those are amongst the warning signs of a heart attack...In short, when the pains did not subside...off to the Emergency Room he went...followed by 2 days of EKGs, CT Scans, echocardiograms, a cardiac catheter, poking, prodding, sticking with needles, morphine...and visiting hours...

The good news-they've ruled out a cardiac problem...the bad news-the pain is still there...

Hopefully the visiting hours get to end tomorrow ...