Unnecessary Torture

Lately I’ve been exposed to some things that have felt eerily like methods of medieval torture from the past.  I recently had some X-ray’s taken during which I had to lay on my back upon an incredibly hard table for what seemed like hours, it felt more like a torture rack.  I had my teeth scaled which took hours and felt like torture, then most recently I had a tooth pulled, which took way too long to be released from my gum! 

Way back in the dark ages, when you had to sit in a waiting room somewhere, like a doctor’s office, you would sit around reading a magazine and listening to some piped in music, mostly instrumentals. As the times progressed, they started using radio stations that played what was called “Soft Rock” and lately I’ve gone to a doctor who actually plays his own collection of CDs and I had the pleasure of listening to some Pat Benatar there once. 

But there is a frightening new phenomenon being used in most waiting rooms now a days, it’s called a flat screen TV!  The frightening thing about this TV phenomenon is the programs that are put on for people to watch as we count the minutes until our appointment. Talk shows are about the worst thing to be stuck in a waiting with, they can be very offensive, next would be the classic daily soap opera which has taken a turn for the worst with the addition of more explicit scenes and language, perhaps the least offensive would be the game shows or maybe a nature or travel show.  The Judge or doctor shows are interesting sometimes, but usually just boring.

So what do they put on, but those torrid talk shows, like The View or a soap opera, like The Days of Our Lives, it can make you cringe! It’s bad enough if everyone in the waiting room is an adult, but what about when there are young children present?  It doesn’t seem to matter to the doctors who's in the waiting room, I almost believe that it’s a pass time for the employees, when there is a lull in patients.

I was at a dermatologist with my teenage niece once and there were two young boys who came in with their mother just after we sat down. They were probably both under the age of ten or 11 and at first they were content to play with their electronic toys, but soon they were wandering around the room taking in the TV and began watching what was on. There just happened to be a talk show playing with some actress talking about all the drugs and sex she’d been involved in.  Not exactly something I wanted to hear, but what about these young boys?  Their mother was engrossed in the show herself, when at last she realized maybe it wasn’t the best for her children (or she just got bored) she finally asked if the channel could be changed, although the next show wasn’t much better.

Some places have their own little channel which features info related to their practice, boring but at least practical and not offensive. How do you pick a channel that will be appropriate for everyone?  My personal ideal pick would be music videos, but then again there are some inappropriate videos out there.  I’d prefer videos by Christian artists, but that might upset other people. I don’t think I could stand watching Country music either! Such a dilemma, maybe we should just go back to listening to music and reading! 

I usually bring something to do when I have to sit and wait, a book to read or a word search puzzle to work on, but sometimes you can’t concentrate with some of the junk they show.  I also bring along my iPod, so I can at least listen to my music, but with headphones in, you can’t always hear when they call your name.  I’ve actually almost missed my appointment trying to drown out the TV by turning the volume on my iPod too loud!  I guess there is just no happy medium when it comes to unnecessary torture!