I was just recalling the events of yesterday with my neighbor Matt and realized that I completely forgot to tell all three of you readers about an important piece of the story. It's not funny or remotely interesting but I need to note it for when I've gotten [more] forgetful.

As I walked home from Darin's place I removed the jersey from my back and snuck it into my bathroom, jamming it into a drawer. Then I grabbed a shower and called Ben in to help me shave (because he loves putting a razor blade to my neck). Then, being the clever little turd that I am, I got dressed with the Favre jersey on top and jammed a bunch of socks in the shoulder area so I could look more like a football player, or at least an adult male, and walked out to see Kerri.

You should know that Kerri has a crush on Mr. Favre so I was hoping to capitalize on that notion, something that wasn't as difficult as it could have been, given her quality of eyesight, but also something that even pure blindness would not have pulled off. Darnit!

So that's the story: I came out nice and clean and pretended to be Bret Favre with socks in my shoulder area, wearing a #4 GB Packers jersey. Fascinating, huh?

Oh yeah, I was wearing other clothes too... it wasn't *solely* the Packers jersey... I wouldn't treat your brain that way.

Somehow I came across a stethoscope in my house which is either my original one from when I first started working at a dialysis unit or one of Johnny's that was left behind after a visit. Either way, I have one for the moment.

Ben has been sick for a couple of days now and his condition seems to be degrading; He's running a fairly high fever (103+) and is chalk full of joint pain (at least, that's what I've gathered from the best description a 3 year old can provide). I figured I'd play with my old work gear and have a listen to his heart and lungs. It's amazing how quickly I recalled the distinct sounds and how those sounds yanked out memories from 15 years ago. For me the sounds are more powerful than pictures, much like people describe with smells (I can't smell anything but I'm told that "smell" has powerful recollection properties).

I remember the first time I heard a patient's lungs being full of fluid. I didn't know what the sound was so I asked my boss to have a listen and she clued me in as to what those "whispy" noises were, and how I could get a reasonable feel for how "full" the lungs were based on where I started hearing the sounds. And my first irregular heartbeat. And murmur. Shit, I knew as much as the doctors and nurses after a couple of years. Of course, I didn't, but for a time I *thought* I did. I refer to that time as my "Tom was a pompous, blowhard ass" period.

Ben's lungs sound "gunky", shitty, but they're not full of fluid. His heart is actually beating too fast (140bpm) for me to hear any detail though I'm sure an M.D. could get past that and figure if anything weird was going on. If Ben weren't so sick, this would actually be fun.

Abigail asked if I was playing "doctor" and I thought to myself, "no way!, I'm playing dialysis tech". I want to let her play with the stethoscope too but I'm afraid it might lead to her actually playing "doctor", in the real scary sense for a Dad of a pretty little girl. I can just imagine her hooking up with Matthew (the 4 year old across the street) and... ahhh crappity crap... I need to stop imagining before I make myself sick. Maybe I'll throw this thing in the trash or bury it in a drawer.