The Amazing Immune System.

I was at work waiting for a receptionist in a crowded lobby of a doctor who works in a low income neighborhood in the city. The receptionist is on the phone so I'm looking at my calendar, and taking in the nice smell of the office. I'm kidding when I say "nice smell".

It's not a piticular offensive smell, it's just a very forien smell. forien in the sense that I can't identify what it is, is it a strange cleaning product? Is it filth? Is it the people? Is it the building? I don't know, that's kind of what scares me. Sometime, and I know all of us sales reps feel this way, I just want to hold my breath when I walk into some offices. Sometimes it's the cleanliness of the office, sometimes it just the thought of being surrounded by lot of sick people when I feel completely healthy

As a matter of fact I remember last year I was in this same office waiting in the lobby, and it was hot, the lobby was packed and the smells were many and strong. So I would walk outside to take a deep cleansing breath, and when I was waiting in the lobby I would take short shallow breaths. I know I'm crazy. Just humor me.

I remember when I was a missionary sitting in many different homes, and not only could I smell the filth I could see it sitting there. Whatever it was, dishes, trash, animals, animal crap, etc. Point is I survived, and I don't ever remember getting sick on my mission. Ever.

Anyhow, in this office a lot of the patients are Asian immigrants, who speak very little, if any, English. Gives it a very unique flavor. I go to this office often, probably once a week.

Today I was in this office, and it was packed as usual. On this piticular occasion, there was a woman who was not Asian (that caught my attention) waiting in the lobby, and facing her, sitting across from her were her 3 children. Age's probably 7 (boy), 5 (boy), and 4 (girl). She was a big woman, big big. Probably 5'6, and 400 big ones. Her kids were cute as could be. All clean, hair done, sitting still. There are probably 20+ people in the lobby.

As I'm standing there I hear big momma say loudly "where'd you get dat gum". I look over at the kids, and the older boy, and the younger sister are staring at the middle 5 year old boy. He didn't answer. "WHERE DID YOU GET DAT GUM". The gum chewer is sitting on his hands rocking back and forth and not answering, eyeballing his mom. No expression on his face. I loved that he was probably very afraid of her, but whatever it was he was feeling a little bold. So his older brother answers for him. "Momma he got it off the seat." I have to admit I had to fight everything within me from laughing out loud. Even though the lobby was packed I'm guessing a lot of people in the room had no clue what big momma was talking about. Maybe that's why big momma didn't mind having this conversation in front of everyone in the lobby.

However, big momma could tell I was following the action by the big ol grin on my face, and the fact I was staring at her waiting for her response. She looks at me, I smile, she doesn't smile back, I raise my eyebrows quickly, she doesn't mirror me at all, I look at the kids instead.

She says "what seat!" "The seat in your car". I stopped smiling at that point, I think I was a little embarrassed for her at that point. However, that didn't stop me from continuing to watch the whole thing. I stopped facing the secretary, and I had turned around to watch this happen. Also realize that big momma didn't mind having this conversation in front of everyone. She continued to holler across the room to the boy.

So the older brother says "He's gonna get sick, your gonna get sick." Little sister says "yeah siiick." So momma says, "boy spit that gum out, your gonna get sick." Again the older brother repeats his previous forecast "your gonna get sick". Little sister this time was just repulsed this time because she just says "sick". I must admit I loved watching this whole thing happen. It seems like those moments always happen to me, and never to anyone else. I'm sure every parent feels that way.

At this point I look back over at the mom, and see looks at me, and I realize maybe this isn't a good place to look. At that moment the secretary says "you can go back". So I do.

Well here is the part that kind of got to me. Most of what had happened could have happened to any parent. Have enough kids and someone is going to try gum from someplace they shouldn't have. I can still remember pulling gum off the sidewall in San Diego as a kid on a hot summer day, and chewing on the little rocks inside the gum and pulling the rocks out of the gum and sticking the gum right back in my head. Didn't seem to bother me much as a kid, Well I finish up with the doctor, and walk back out into the lobby, and there sitting on his hands, rocking back and forth STILL chewing his gum was the little 5 year old boy.

A whole bunch of things crossed my mind as I walked out to the car. Maybe he doesn't see gum much. Maybe momma never drops the hammer on stuff like this (that seemed a little unlikely, just watching their behavior in public, so well behaved), maybe momma knew something I didn't about building a strong immune system.

He seemed happy with his gum, momnma for some reason didn't mind, and I may have been the only besides the little girl who seemed a little queasy about the whole thing.