Another one of those coincidence is stranger
than fiction episodes....
Yesterday I was at the doctor's office, more
specifically the radiology department of my
health plan, having an ultrasound to check
out one of those pesky female problems. I am
already unnerved enough because the tech
performing the exam is male, which has never
been the case before, and he was a little
too over enthusiastic about explaining the
fact that the female receptionist would be
in the room the whole time, leaving me to
lie there and think about all the
possibilities that were being prevented by
her being here, AND I had to have one of
those "No, I'll do it myself" moments with him.
So I try to zone out, which is really difficult
to do with a over full bladder, and after what
seemed like an eternity, he said he was done,
he just had to check to make sure it was all ok
with Dr. Caponigro. Which my first instinctive
response was to think, what if the dr doesn't
think it's ok, will there be more?!?,
but then the next thought was to think hmmm,
Caponigro, I wonder if they are related at all
to....And into the room sails Marianna Caponigro,
make that Dr. Caponigro, with whom I went to
high school.
I should specify that she was a couple of years
ahead of me, and she was under no uncertain
terms, the school goddess. I went to an artsy
high school, so she was not the prom queen, or a
cheerleader, or anything like that. She was the
star of most of the drama productions, usually
in the ingenue roles, really beautiful in that
mysterious with european parents sort of way,
and not only foxy and talented, but also had
a great head for the books, was a bio major
and wanted to be a doctor. I still remember
being all a twitter and flushed when she signed
my yearbook when she was a senior and I a
sophomore, saying that I was cool and to
"never change". A true real live heroine
from a Salinger novel. And obviously fulfilled
her dream of being a doctor.
I should be flattered that she still remembered
me; breezing into the exam room saying
"Rachel Keller, we went to high school
together!" But then she went on to discuss
living in the Bay Area, and her kids, and
then my ovaries, and well, with me in my exam
gown, it was hard to recover from that. And
of course all I could say to her was,
"Radiology? Of all the specialties, really?"
But I'm glad my high school idol thinks
my ovaries are ok.
