A Practical Joke - Before Surgery!

 


All my life I’ve been a practical joker. If you’ve read my blogs, you know  I have written about several of my favorites. In my opinion, there’s never a bad time for a practical joke.  My buddy Richard says that when he dies, he’s going to have one of those “I Voted” stickers put on his lapel before his viewing. When I told my wife about his plan, she said, “You mean somebody else will put it on his lapel.” Well, duh.   Oh Lord help me. That’s another blog for another time. 


Back to the story.  I was having surgery this week for a torn meniscus and I thought to myself, what better time to play a little practical joke on my surgeon?  Dr. Rogers seemed to be cool - I knew he had a sense of humor, so why not?  In a way, it was self serving. The way I look at it, a happy surgeon is a good surgeon. I certainly don’t want to be cut on by someone who just had a knock down, drag out fight with his wife.  


So I made up a little sign and put it in the bag I took to the hospital. After the nurse got me prepped and ready for surgery, I pulled the card out, taped it to my knee, and covered it with my gown and blanket. 


My timing was perfect. I had just put the tape up and laid back on the gurney, when the doctor walked in to mark my knee. 


“How are you doing today?”, he asked.  


“I think the more appropriate question is how are you doing today?”, I replied.  


He smiled, took out his marker, and began pulling  up the gown to mark my leg. I glanced at my wife and saw her shaking her head. That’s when the doctor saw the sign, which said, 


“This is our final attempt to contact you concerning your extended car warranty.”


He burst out laughing. 


I smiled and said, “I just wanted to make sure you marked the correct knee.”


We laughed again, and he said, “I’m going to make sure the anesthesiologist gives you enough juice to keep you in line.”  


“It could’ve been worse”, I replied. “A friend of mine used that same sign before he had his colonoscopy.” 


He shook his head and left the room smiling.  A happy surgeon - mission  accomplished. 


In a few  hours, we were on our way home and I was laughing and laughing about the little joke I had just pulled off. That is, until my wife said, “You know, your physical therapy starts the day after tomorrow. Dr. Rogers may have the last laugh.”  


What a kill-joy. 


Joe Hobby is a comedian from  Alabama who wrote for Jay Leno for many years. 

Find more of Joe’s stories on his blog: https://mylifeasahobby.blogspot.com/?m=1. Also, follow him on Facebook at: Joe Hobby Comedian- Writer





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