Apropos of nothing in particular, is there some kind of rule that says hospital/doctor’s office waiting rooms all have to be miserable hellscapes with uncomfortable chairs, unpleasant and/or too loud TV programs, decorated in color schemes ranging from Early Pepto-Bismol to Late 70s Asylum Tile? Is there a law about placing dusty fake potted plants around, having all the signs be faded and peeling?
Why can’t we get some faux-leather armchairs and a decent rug in there, and a radio playing soothing classical music? They make durable furniture that is also inexpensive and/or comfortable, so what is the fucking problem? I swear to God every time I’m in a doctor’s office, and I’m in them a hell of a lot lately, I wind up stuck watching Crossfire at top volume, sitting on some gross chair that’s a torture device, looking at carpet that would not be out of place in my dad’s “man cave” circa 1982.
This is not calming, and it just seems unnecessarily mean. We are all there either for an illness or a test that may reveal one, tests that are generally uncomfortable, so why amp us all up? You’re just ensuring that by the time we’re actually in the room with the doctor we’ll be pissed off. We only get 5 minutes each with the doc anyway, why make sure we’re in an epic grump when that happens?
I am tempted to ask the other patients if they’d like to kick in for redecorating the place. We could get a shitload of a lot done with the after-Christmas sales and coupons and stuff, and it would make everybody feel like they were in a place where they’d be taken care of. Stuff like this makes me crazy because it’s so basic: If you can’t make people well, you can at least make sure their environment doesn’t suck from the second they walk in the door. Flourescent lights and The View can’t be of any therapeutic benefit to anyone.
A.