My Previous Life

This will be one in a series of random recollections of things I thought I would capture here for posterity:

Circa 1992 - My career as a field service engineer for a medical electronics company.

I was visiting Boston City Hospital to install an audiometric diagnostic system. Since there was alot of equipment to be moved, I went to unload the minivan at the loading dock. I was going to try and be courteous, by unloading the equipment, then moving the van to the parking garage right away. I was advised against this by the receiving clerk. He said I should move the equipment to where it was going right away. He didn't mind that I left it there, just the he said he didn't want to hear about it if I came back and things were missing.

Ok, up to the audiology department then. When I got there, I informed the department manager that I was there and asked if it was OK that I leave the equipment in the hall outside the exam room.

She was a professional black woman, obviously well educated, but also obviously a product of the local community.

"Leave it if you want, but I'm just tellin' ya, you all need to watch yo' goods. Here's the key, put it all in the room."

The van was left in the dock for over a 1/2 hour. No one seemed to mind that,not even the drivers waiting to get in.