COINCIDENTALLY…

Alright.  So, I had a follow up appointment with my gastroenterologist after a recent colonoscopy.  (Alert!  I promise not all of my posts will contain waste production organ content.) Though one never knows….

In any case, I got there early, filled out the necessary paperwork in triplicate, did the blood pressure/weight/height thing.  Only one of those numbers is consistently disappointing, and that number is 5’2”.  Ah well.  I was wise enough to marry a very tall person, thus producing tall children who have NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT.  I digress.  Into the exam room I go, realized as soon as the door closed that my cell phone was in the car.  Poor pitiful me, my Kindle and Audible apps are on my phone.  I miss the good old days where for entertainment in waiting rooms I always brought an honest to goodness tree killing kind of book.  I digress yet again (noticing a pattern here?).  In strides the doc, good morning, good morning, “What­ brings you here today?" he asks.  Told him I got a phone call after the procedure asking to schedule this follow up.  He looks around on the trusty computer monitor, this is good, and that looks great, no biopsies, no anything…am I having any, um, bowel issues?  Nope.  It was a mistake, they called me for a follow-up by mistake.  

Where’s the coincidence you wonder?  There’s another Linda Vallier right here in this small area in this small state in this small nation on this small pale blue dot.  So, I presume that the follow-up was not for me, but for the other lady with same name.  Somewhat unusual as “Vallier” isn’t exactly common around these here parts (I mean parts as geography, not parts as in…um, parts).  This sort of thing has happened before, so I really shouldn’t have been too surprised.   We see the same dentist, see the same group of primary care doctors, both donate blood, we were born in the same year (I’m older by 3 months, pfft).  I’ve actually met the lady.  She’s very nice, likely not as scatterbrained and thus not nearly as entertaining as yours truly.  Oh.  She’s taller though, drat.

Actually this is the second time in my life that something namesake related has happened.  Way back in my school days, there was another young lady with whom I shared my maiden moniker.  She too was taller, not at all hilarious, and younger by one month (why do I always have to be the old one?).  In addition, in those much younger days, the said tall person referenced earlier liked both of us (what a scamp).  I’ve wondered from time to time exactly “which” Linda he hoped would open the door when he knocked (anyone remember Mystery Date?)  Some surprises are good, some not so much.  In any case, after nearly 40 years, I don’t plan on asking.