"beep, beep, beep" As I look at the nasty device that has produced this terrible noise, I must decide to do its bidding, or destroy it...
As usual, however, I bend to the will of my digital master and answer the page, for the 47th time today (it is only 2pm...)
The usual, unenthusiastic, 'Hi, it's Matt Petrie, orthopedics.'
The voice on the other end of the line, unusually enthusiastic. "Guess what time it is?"
"Pardon me?" I utter.
"It's coffee time! Meet me in the caf. in 10"
"Alright, Naulty"
And so began the sneaky coffee ritual of my residency with Dr. Nault. As many of you know, the daily lives of surgical and medicine residents are a tad busy. Our clandestine coffee time was pushing the time limits of our work day, but I think it maintained our sanity through a busy time.
Topics ranged from work, to complaints about work, to ultimately more cerebral topics like our respective ladyfriends, sports, and the occassional insight about life.
Over time, life got busier, I continued my training away from Kingston, and eventually moved away, but my social time with Mike always seeemed to revolve around me stopping to visit in Kingston and having coffee. In that time, topics changed, life changed, and so did the depth of conversations, and ulitmately that changed the depth of our friendship.
So, as I sat with my coffee this morning, Mike's memory close at hand, I reflected on what has passed in the last five years, and what the future holds.
I am all too familiar with the sound of a pager going off-- whether it was beeping in its characteristic way or buzzing on vibrate as it wiggled on our bedside table in the middle of the night. I can also appreciate Mike's reaction when the page was from a friendly source (PEEEEEEtrie!)-- a most welcome surprise in the middle of a hectic day!
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