Some rhetorical questions

There are some questions that will never be answered, so we call them rhetorical. It's just a device for whining without seeming to whine.

The first is: Why do medical professionals -- doctors, dentists, X-ray technicians -- think their time is so much more valuable than mine?

I don't want to get anyone's knickers in a knot, but if I show up late for an appointment, the least I get is the stare. It's a "how dare you be late" stare. I've even gotten a phone call asking where I am if I'm 10 minutes late for an appointment.

But there seems to be no problem with me cooling my heels for 15, 20, 30 minutes without an explanation except to say, if I ask, that the practitioner is behind.

I know there are emergencies. The doctor should see people with serious problems first. I know about triage. But if the practitioner is going to be 30 minutes behind, call me. That's all I ask.

I have to problem with the doctor seeing an aged patient who doesn't feel well, or the dentist seeing a child who fell and whose parent is worried about that chipped tooth. In fact, doing things like that raises the practitioner in my estimation. Just tell me -- make a 30-second phone call.

If it's going to be a long time -- if the doctor has to go off to hospital for a patient, fine. Just tell me.

Another rhetorical question: Why do people who drive SUV suddenly lose all their manners.

I'm sure the woman driving the Hummer or Suburban or Excursion is a wonderful mother and an asset to her church and community. But when she gets behind the wheel of this tank, she turns into Crash Smashem. These guys can't find the brake.

They have to install themselves on your left as you pass a highway entrance ramp where their twin sister can't wait five seconds to blend into traffic. So I have to slam on the brakes to avoid becoming the filling in a sandwich.

I know it's not their fault that highway exchanges were designed by the firm of Dumber and Dumbest. You have to cut across a line of traffic to exit and enter, such as Exit 38 northbound on I-95 in Milford, Conn. This is the exit to the Milford Connector and ultimately the Wilbur Cross Parkway.

It's not their fault this is a dangerous intersection. But it is their fault that they won't move their behemoths to allow crossing traffic.

Thanks for allowing me to get this stuff off my chest.