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On Interracial Relationships (Part III) - the escalator

10/3/2009

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They say that when you meet a patient, 90% of the diagnosis can be found in the interview.  Sometimes telltale details in the patient's history can almost certainly point to a specific diagnosis.  In the case of aortic dissection, the classic marker is abdominal pain that is so sudden and so intense that the patient's memory of when it first started is like a freeze frame recount.

I remember that feeling the first weekend that I met my girlfriend.

We were at a conference.  I had just recently come to recognize the "white folks" rule.  Additionally, I was still pretty certain that I wouldn't ever be able to date a white person again.  At least not any time soon.  However, I wasn't so disillusioned that I believed that I couldn't even befriend white folks.  Besides, I was curious about her.  Classmates had described her to me as a liberal who believed that disengaging from the system and removing the liberal view point from the discussion, would only make things worse.  It was our responsibilty to stay involved; thus, her heavy involvement in the AMA.  I was skeptical.  I knew plenty of people who said they were liberal but didn't do much more than vote Democratic.

We were on an escalator in a hotel way to fancy for anyone's good.  We were standing on the escalator up from the conference rooms to the lobby level.  I stood staggered with my left foot resting on a stair higher than my right and I was turned, slightly facing her.  She was standing towards my right.  I made a general comment about "white folks." Looking back, I was probably testing her.  There was a moment.  Then she looked at me and responded.  Smart.  Calm. Un-offended.  The carpet behind the escalator had a diamond pattern.
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