Sickness and Gratitude

Numerous folks seem to be getting

and keeping a bad virus;  sore throat,

sinus infection, bronchial troubles.

Alec succumbed to a constant cough

last Friday and Rachel suggested

a visit to the doctor;  quite the

experience.

We walked into a house, up a spiral

staircase and entered a very small waiting room;

simple hard-backed chairs edging the 

perimeter of the room.  There was no

secretary to greet us, no bank of phones ringing,

no separate rooms for the sick and the healthy.

Medical advertisements were tacked haphazardly to the wall;

 préservatif  caught my eye.  If I hadn't seen the picture of

a ruptured condom I would have thought  jam

was the subject of the poster.

Periodically the doctor would enter the waiting

room, shake hands with the patient next in line

and off they would go. Soon, it was our turn and 

Rachel, Alec and I entered the Dr.'s room.

Again, another surprise greeted us as we entered his

all -in-one office/examining room.  A floor scale
from the 50's, an examining table, a wall full of kids drawings,
a  desk piled high with papers and peeking out behind
 a small glass-door cabinet, soldiers;
 miniature painted soldiers.   Meet Alec's new favourite
Dr. who apparently is an expert on Napoleon.

After quickly examining Alec and writing out
several prescriptions for his cough I asked,
"what do I owe?"  Here, without a secretary,
 the doctor collects the money.
The Dr. slid the prescription
across the desk, smiled and said,
" rien---un petit merci pour le débarquement."
Nothing---a small thank you for  D-Day.

Here we are in 2011, sixty some years after the end of
WWII, a war whose memory, even now, seems fresh.
What is also fresh is the gratitude the French people have
for their liberators.  Though this was not the first time I have heard
"merci,"  I was still stunned and humbled by this doctor's response.

While I was not happy that Alec was sick,
I am grateful for the opportunity to experience the
humility of this doctor who shared his
gratitude with us.