What’s the Point?

Last week I went to the dentist, not one of my favorite outings, but a necessary one from time to time. Actually, I wanted reassurance that all would be well during my up-coming trip to the States. Two years ago I had a terrific toothache and needed emergency treatment in a dental clinic in California. Everyone in this large clinic treated me professionally and impersonally. The receptionist sent me to the x-ray room once I had paid for the visit. The dentist told me that I had two abscessed teeth that would require immediate root canals at a cost of $2,000 - $1,000 for each tooth! I turned down his advice since I was returning to Jordan in 10 days. As luck would have it, by that time I needed one tooth extracted, a root canal in the other one, and a new bridge. The total bill came to less than $1,000!

This information should entice a travel agent to sell a tour to Jordan with a trip to the dentist as an option.

But to return to my dentist appointment last week. He works alone in an unpretentious office with only a secretary/receptionist manning the phone. While we were alone in the waiting room, I began leafing through a magazine, and she made a phone call. Directly she swiveled her chair to face the wall. Although she lowered her voice, I knew this call was personal from the snatches of conversation and giggles that I heard. I felt badly knowing that someone in distress might be trying to make an appointment while she was tying up the phone. Some minutes passed; she hung up, and I saw my dentist. I decided not to tell him about his receptionist because she was new on the job, and he would sort things out. What I did do, however, was tell this story to some significant Jordanians in my life. At the very least I expected a thoughtful silence in response to my astute observations. Instead, I got an explanation for her behavior – “the girl was bored in a small office; she called a friend. So what?” I thought: I KNOW THAT, but the point is -----. ASH