Having to service my broken ankle, I went to the Chen Gong University Medical Center for treatment. It was a fairly busy day in the outpatient department. My wife left me in the waiting room to go get some documents. In the center of a long corridor chairs were arranged in columns and row to face 8 doors which opened to 8 examination rooms along the left wall. A large window at the far end provided ample sunlight.
Being the only foreigner in the room, most of the 150 people tracked me as I wheeled my chair across the room to the window to get some vitamin D.
As my number was soon to come up, I rolled back to the main door, and took up a place tucked in a corner, out of the path of direct traffic but close enough to my doctors door. Absorbed in my book, I looked up in time to see the only other wheel chair enter the room, a olive skinned, curly haired man in his early 30's. He looked Mediterranean or Middle eastern.
“ Hello”, I greeted him.
Seeing another Mediterranean/middle eastern face, he lit up,” Hello” he approached. “I'm Mohammed from Iran.”
“I'm Malcolm from New York,” and to put him at ease I smiled with an outstretched hand,”A pleasure to meet you.”
“What happened to your leg?” he asked.
“Paragliding accident,” and noticing his back brace, “And you ?”
“Spinal injury. Herniated disk.”
“So sorry. Sorry also about the trouble between our home countries.”
“I hate politicians!” he added emphatically, spitting out the words like chewed betelnut. “If they would get the hell out of the way we could all make a world of peace for ourselves.”
“So true. Spend the same amount of money on peace initiative that we spend on war, and we could have peace.”
“You are Muslim?”
“Yes, You are Christian?”
" Yes."
“Good! We give politicians, how you Americans say, the Bird,” and with outstretched arms, and a warm smile, we reached across our wheel chairs and clumsily embraced.
“I pray for healing in your nation and in your spine. Amen”
“I pray for your country to know peace and for you to fly again very soon. Allah Akbar..”
“Shalom Alechem.”
“Wa Alaykum Salam.”
When my wife returned, she found me in a most unusual position, hands clasped, and embracing another man who bore a striking resemblance to me.
“You 2 look like long lost brothers.”
“ Hahaha, yeah, Jacob and Esau!” I quipped.
“ Hahaha. Hey, you got facebook?”he asked.
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