Knackered’s Seen but Not Heard with Benzos

   Hey there.  Knackered here.  We start with a question for the audience today.  Have you had a conversation with anyone recently?  Secondly, did they listen and respond appropriately?

   Before we go any further, I should probably tell you that I’ve been working on my communication skills recently.  I’ve been told by those close to me that I tend to hear what I want to hear and disregard the rest.(🎶 Paul Simon).

   So, I walked into the dentist’s office a couple of days ago and am greeted by a perky receptionist who welcomes me and asks me how my day is going?  As I proceed to tell her, she pulls out a brochure and asks me if I’m familiar with their new insurance plan? She tells me about it and asks if would like it added to the balance of my appointment costs today.  

   No sooner do I open my mouth, than the doors to the inner sanctum are opened and the hygienist calls my name. I pick up my cane and hobble down the hall to follow her. Once again, I’m prodded to account for the satisfaction I’m feeling about my day.  And, no sooner do I begin to reply,  than I’m told that we’ll be in the exam room on our right.  

   As we enter, our attention is drawn to a loud podcast playing. As they’re discussing possible flavors for adult ‘Play Dough’, she replies ‘eww, did you ever eat that stuff.’ I begin to tell her about my Play Dough preferences only to be told that I need to be seated for x- rays. As she leans me back, she inquires about summer fun. Again I begin saying… only to fall backwards and be told that I’ll need to wear the proffered sunglasses in her hand.  

  The x-ray thingy is crammed into my mouth as the podcast begins to discuss the need for gender testing for Olympic sports. I’m asked to respond as to my opinion on the matter when she steps out and pushes the hummmm.. button on the x-ray machine.

   At this point between the stabbing of my gums with sharp little instruments, and the musical ads on the radio, response of any kind just isn’t happening. However, I realize that I’m held captive as she responds to the news podcast questions while simultaneously telling me about her day and her life in general.  

   Things proceed and I’m now told to sit up as she asks If I’m  still comfortable. This time I just nod.  As she looks at me strangely, she boots up the computer and the conversation reverts to the scheduling of my next appointment.  I punch junk into my phone as she sorts it. 

   She asks me how that will work for me just as to two others enter.  It’s the dentist and some sort of tag along in scrubs. He begins to ask about my day and summer trips as an x-ray screen descends in front of me.  At this point, we now have four audio inputs blaring. Podcast droning and three humans.  

   The dentist informs me that with the addition of AI, we know have the means of predicting potential trouble spots. He uses one of the little jabber thingies to point to red boxes on the screen. All of them look identical.  

   He waxes on to say that with his professional discretion, he can clearly predict which of the areas to focus on.  He points to one that looks identical to all the others and smiles at me.  

   It’s time for Knackered to move on with his day.  Sitting up, he says, “Let’s just hope the damn thing works better than spell check!”  Suddenly everything stops.  The podcast dies and all three of them stare with open mouths as Knackered retrieves his cane and leaves.  At last.  It’s the ‘sound of silence,’ (Paul Simon ‘64).  Beautiful.  Of course it is.