Rocket Man

All that glitters is not gold...

Having thoroughly devoured the year-old headline article in the national news magazine at the dentist office, Brett threw the magazine on the coffee table and crossed his arms.

“Mr. Santini?” the receptionist said as she motioned for Brett to follow her.

She got him situated in the dentist chair and a lady in pink scrubs came by to check vitals.

After she finished, she looked over his chart and wrote down his vitals.

She asked Brett, “Something the matter, Mr. Santini? Your blood pressure is unusually high and your heartbeat is racing. Still within range so the dentist can see you today but out of the range by a lot.”

“Well…Allyson, yes something is the matter. Just read the old article in the magazine in the lobby about the astronaut, Timothy G. Raines. Heard of him?”

The lady laughed and said, “Yes, I have. That’s one of the reasons why the magazine’s out there. He’s one of our patients actually.”

“Well, anyhow,” said Brett. “I went to high school with the guy. I saw him at our fifth year reunion but lost all contact after that. It’s been twenty-one years. Well, turns out this guy circled the moon last year and I’m still stuck on earth selling PCs to small businesses.” 

“Eh, don’t be so hard on yourself, Mr. Santini. You don’t know what he had to go through to get where he is, the sacrifices he’s had to make, the two disastrous marriages he’s already had because he was away from home for such long periods of time.”

“You speak as if you know a lot about him, Allyson.”

“I do because he’s my brother. And while many envy him, I don’t. We all have our lot in life. As the Good Book says, if you’re married, have kids, a good job and enjoy those, be grateful because a lot of other people are miserable with those kinds of blessings. Okay, so that’s my take on what it says. Something to think about. The dentist will be with you shortly, Brett.”

Even before Allyson was finished saying that, Dr. Talman popped into the exam room and said, “And how are we doing today, Mr. Santini?”

“Better, much better thanks to your assistant. And you know, Doc, I might even enjoy this visit.”

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