His Name Is Earl

An acquaintance limped into the men’s room just ahead of me. As we stood side by side inside, I asked about his limp. Tests will have to determine what’s going on. He asked how I had been and I told him of my 10-week coughing bout earlier in the year.

He had the same symptoms (round-the-clock coughing, nothing coming out, etc.) that I had for the same length of time over the same time period. And he had gone to several specialists and gotten treated for a whole range of stuff like I had. His diagnoses and possible cures both intersected with mine and were quite different. The most we had in common was being treated for asthma, which neither of us had.

His coughing stopped abruptly like mine had at about the same time. Next time, we’ll have to call one another and consult.