Bad behavior
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- June
- 10
As you get older, do you find you’re less patient with people who behave badly?
This week, I almost punched a woman whose behavior was so shockingly obnoxious I could barely contain myself. Would I have been calmer 20 years ago? Is tolerance inversely related to age?
I’ll keep the story brief: A nurse in a doctor’s office was confrontational and rude from the moment I stepped inside. It started when she measured me. Ever since I stopped growing, I have been five-foot-six.
“You can’t be five foot six,’’ she yelled as she measured me at five-four. She stood up straight to show me how much taller she was. “I AM FIVE FOOT SIX!!!” she shouted.
Honestly, she was at least three inches taller. More like five-nine. Whatever. Not worth making a scene over.
Later, she did some blood work and told me to sit in the examining room till she got back. Fifteen minutes later, she was still gone. I got up to leave and saw her in the hallway. “Can I go now?” I asked. “No!’’ she shouted. “You cannot go now.’’
Then, get this, she opened the door to an empty examining room, looked inside, shut the door and turned to me. “You can go now,’’ she said.
“What did you just do?” I said.
“I had to ask the doctor if you could go.’’
There was nobody in the room. She knew that. I knew that.
“So okay, you can go,’’ she said.
I was so furious at this point that my blood pressure was probably higher than the reading she’d done two hours earlier. Which, by the way, I swear she made up. Okay…maybe not. But who knows.
On my way out, I asked how long she’d worked there. She said six months. I hope that by the next time I go there, she is gone. I mean, how can a doctor’s office tolerate rude behavior from one of its nurses? The thing is, I wonder if I would have been so irritated if I were 25?
Here’s another question: if I were her age, which was somewhere in the twenties, would she have been nicer to me?
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 5:07 pm by Linda Lombroso.
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Baby boomer Linda Lombroso was born in Queens and grew up in Port Washington. She began her journalism career at New York Magazine and Rolling Stone, and came back to the field after spending 10 years as a stay-at-home mother. Linda joined The Journal News in 1997 and has been a Life & Style writer since 2000. She has three children.
yep. everyday. i even vocalize it
Steve—What would you have said in a situation like that?
Unfortunately, we can never think of just the right thing to say in situations like that – I usually don’t think of the perfect comeback until I’m well away from the situation. But if I would have thought of it, I would have said “Just a minute – I need to ask the doctor something before I go” – and open the door she just closed to the empty room – just to watch her face…
Momanon—What a great idea! I wish I’d thought of that!
Linda,
Honestly I would have bit back sooner than you did. I would have pulled out my drivers license and said there ya go.
I would have stepped up and said see. 5’6”
etc. I would have railed her.. But then thats me..
Especially if i am in teh doctor’s office and i was nothing but polite and she confronted me like that.. oh no.. i would not have taken it at all.
If you want I can be your chaperone the next time.