Got in big trouble at work last night

On Friday evenings, I see patients at a Muslim Charitable Hospital downtown. I share a room with an Orthopaedic Surgeon, who is an excellent physician.

Since it is a charitable hospital, people do everything to try and keep costs down. This includes the Orthopaedic Surgeon using old fashioned Plaster of Paris powder and hand making a cast (in the States, everything is pre-packaged). When you use Plaster of Paris powder in a room with a large ceiling fan (as ours does), it makes quite a mess.

Last night, the Orthopaedist put on a cast and then had to leave quickly. So I started cleaning up after him. You know, sweeping off the patient bed, putting paper in the garbage pail and so on. AND THEN ONE OF THE WARD BOYS CAUGHT ME!!

"Oh NO, Doctor, you must not do this," he shouted, calling others at the same time. So a Cleaner was duly fetched, who did the pick up. But when I bent down to pick up a broom, to get the Plaster of Paris powder out of the main walk way, the protestations got even worse. So then a Sweeper was fetched, so that I would not have to do that.

At this point the President of the Board of Directors came in (he has an office next to mine), and sat me down to let me know in no uncertain terms that cleaing was unacceptable behaviour on my part, and that if anything needed cleaning, I must call the appropriate person.

Then he asked everyone in the room to leave.

"Uh-Oh", I thought, "I really overstepped my cultural boundaries and am going to get an earfull now."

But as the room emptied, he looked at me, and said in English (before this everything was in Hindi), "Is there anything stronger than Viagra?"