(Tragic) Sunday Dental Thread...

Last Monday during the lunch hour we heard some fire trucks screaming past our windows down Walnut Street here in Philly. This occurs three or four times daily. Later that afternoon, we received word that a pediatrician had been found in the basement of her home in the 1700 block of Naudain Street, dead, bound, and burned. It was reported that she was affiliated with The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), an internationally renowned institution.

The horror which overcame my office was incredible. We all found ourselves saying that we hoped and prayed that she was dead before being lit on fire, in and of itself a horrific thought, born of fear, frustration, and rage. Among other hypotheses floating around in the office was the concept that it might have been an anonymous stalker, or an ex/present lover, a daytime burglary gone wrong, or a serial killer. One of the theories proffered by a staff member was that perhaps it was some insane parent of a child who had not been saved, and that this individual blamed the doctor personally and professionally and had enacted revenge of the most frightening variety.

As it turned out, the miscreant was the exterminator who has confessed to the crime. As a matter of opinion, I do not believe his story which he is telling at this point, but it matters not what I believe.

There are two sidebar issues here which have manifest themselves in the immediacy of the tragedy . First, since Monday, we have seen in our office no fewer than fifteen people who had some contact with the victim. We treat many individuals from CHOP including a number of medical and surgical residents, full-time attending physicians, and staff. In addition, in a sense we have a neighborhood practice, so a number of people mentioned that they knew her from dog-walking and the sidewalk society in general. Almost everyone begins their "small talk" by mentioning the incident and the victim.

Second, those of us who treat individuals of all psychological varieties realized that one of our first instincts was to worry that someone would perceive us as aggressors towards themselves or a family member and attempt to harm us. Ninety nine percent of our relationships are at the very least cordial, but there are some which end on a sour note and the fears, whether real or imagined, were palpable. We number among our patients a small but not insignificant percentage of those diagnosed with some form of mental illness which requires medication. I am not including those who have anxiety disorders or sleep issues, or other manageable problems, but I am referring to schizophrenic, schizotypal, severe manic-depressives, suicidal gesturing and/or legitimate attempts of same, and occasionally pure sociopathy and other major illnesses, many of which are not managed well if at all. Strangely, there was a certain "relief" if you want to call it that, that the murder was not patient-oriented.

A week later, this is still the number one topic of conversation here, and it has shaken the very foundation of the Hospital I am told. The phrase "senseless tragedy" does not begin to define it, but is believe that the real lesson here is that the loss of anyone's life diminishes individuals in particular and society in general.

Horrendous crime in Philly...

Inauguration Day Dental Office Thread!!! All good news!

So I moved a large screen monitor into my treatment room and streamed C-SPAN. Universal appreciation and five of us watched the President's Speech. I had it on since 7 AM and it was like being there...no stupid wisecracks, no Blitzer "Uh-uhhhhhh's", no Gergenisms, no speculation about anything...just as though I were there and paying attention, or not. No Rethugs in today to my knowledge. My staff is all Dem on Mondays and they enjoyed it. Great stuff!

And no, I didn't poke anyone's soft palate or drill into their lip because I was distracted...

Now THIS is a big fucking deal!

Congratulations to everyone here for doing his or her part in order that we could have this day.

I thank each and every one of you for helping to make this country more livable for many.

I can't believe that they're playing the Monty Python theme (Liberty Bell March)

again..

they did that to Clinton in 1993 - it was the subject of an NPR editorial afterwards...

CSPAN3 has Inaugurations from previous years...

Fascinating...I'd forgotten that the world was black and white, became grainily colored, and then brightly colored in my lifetime! Amazing!

Dear DU:

My Husband fools around so much outside of our marriage that I don't know if my last child was his. What should I do?

Signed,
Freeper Lady

In memory of Ann Landers...

Anyone else find it ironic that Joe Scar is outraged and apoplectic

about the lies this football player told, but IIRC, Joey sat there calmly stating that the lies which led us to WAR were open to interpretation and may or may not...etc. etc. etc.

I mean, which is more important, right?

Well, shy do I ask questions like this? Football is critical to our existence...people in other countries, not so much. just in case...

This insanity from the NRA is nothing less than a call-to-arms and a call for violent overthrow

of the legally-elected Government of the United States. Where I come from that is called sedition and treason and it is not a PR issue, to be discussed by advertising represntatives, it is a legal issue and involves and is intended to provoke and involve individuals who are potentially dangerous. This is not tinfoil hattery, this is serious.

So will someone please explain to me, because I'm not that bright,

why the MSM continually refers to that whatever-it-was by Wayne LaPeedonmyleg, as a "Press Conference"? There were no questions allowed, so thus, no "conference". The fact that the press was there but not allowed to speak, speaks volumes in its own right. This is a form of contemporaneous revisionist history. It was a speech, and I'll avoid the comparisons to other lunatic speeches, so as not to invoke Godwin's Law.

I don't get it...whatever 'it' is...