20220421: putting things back
I had written some time back about the entertainment every time I had an x-ray in the hospital.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to the whole matter.
When the x-ray guy leaves, he will just leave.
I will be in some vague position, the sheets will have been removed, the pillows moved etc.
Basically he will just leave.
No thought that he should try to put things back the way they were when he came.
It is not just the guy with the xray, pretty much everyone in the hospital is like that.
The physiotherapist will come, move everything including the bed position for their job and just leave.
The nurses will come - whatever the job - feed, vitals check, etc. They will do their work and leave.
It bothers me no end.
Definitely because I can't move and put back things nor can I ask anyone to do so. Maybe others don't feel as much for that reason.
But I also think it is hardwired.
When I was very young (I don't remember the age, but it was quite young), my father used to have a cupboard (well, I don't know what to call it - it was maybe a 1 foot depression in the wall, about 3" x 4", with 4-5 shelves and a wooden double door). You couldn't see inside.
It was always locked. A round number combination lock, Black body with brass numbers.
He used to keep so many interesting things there. There was a huge amount of curiosity to know what was there. Sometimes he would get some things from there and show us, but the curiosity of what else was inside still stayed.
Once, I don't remember how I got it, but I figured out the number combination of the lock.
When I raided it, I was shocked. Not with what I found but with how I found it. It was all usual stuff - things anyone would keep away from careless kids. But it was absolutely perfectly arranged to precision.
Not a single thing was out of it's position and everything was in place.
I naturally picked up a few things and put them back and locked it back.
He found out. He didn't scold or react much, but his actions and body language were clear - he knew. Unmistakably!
Subsequently, the challenge for me was not about finding out what was there, but to take something and put it back without him finding out.
I think, no matter how much my young fingers tried, I ever succeeded in bypassing his scrutinizing eye.
After a little while, he stopped locking it. The lock was there to help hold the latch together, but he stopped locking it.
The novelty was gone and I moved on.
But this experience over a period of time, probably got my head wired to always try and put things back, as precisely as I can, to how they were when I found them.
Over time, I think it has morphed into some sort of OCD.
It bothers me a lot. And the hospital is like a concentration camp for my mind 🙂
I don't know how others feel...
Man. I understand how you feel to an extent. We would visit your house or can say that we stayed at your house for a good bit. I can never forget it. There are a few incidents on this, I would like to recollect.
ReplyDeleteOne was, not sure if you remember. We pulled a pack of cards from the cup board. The cards were used but still stored in order starting from A of spades. They were powdered. It was not plastic cards but paper/cardboard cards.
The magazines in your place. They always places in order, stacked slightly to the side so you can see which magazine it was.
We used to be keen about sport star, Star dust and Femina. The last for obvious reasons. They would be part of our evening conversations on your house bench with pearls if wisdom dropped by benne. And dismissed by you in your classic disdainful manner for such fundas.
Coming back to being organized. We were scared, would try to make sure we put the magazines back in the same order.
I remember you telling us. This was during the time when we use to loose power. You said something to the effect that your dad was so organized he could find what he needed even if he could not find a torch. That would never happen in the first place.
Your dad’s level of organizing is a bench mark to this day.
PPK
🙂🙂
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