BarbWriter

IN MEDICINE A recent newspaper article began this way: "Rude doctors and arrogant medical students are causing a nasty bout of ill will among patients." Then it went on to describe an incident in which a grocery store worker who cut her finger went to a walk-in clinic. She returned with a doctor's note saying she should not handle food. Seeking clarification, her boss sent her back. The doctor wrote back: "Hey, idiot, she can work, just not in fresh foods. Get a little I.Q." After the clerk... Sign in to see full entry.

THE TWO Cs Many books have been written about communication and much about conversation. The dictionary defines the former as "a sending, giving, exchanging (of information, ideas, etc.) while conversation is merely "talk, especially informal and friendly." We communicate in so many ways - through telephone, e-mail, fax, written material of all kinds. And we do it in more subtle ways through eye contact, body movements, hand gentures and the like. These are all part of "an exchange" of... Sign in to see full entry.

She was close to tears as she plunked herself down on the old sofa in the room I optimistically call my office. She was obviously bewildered and upset. "I simply can't believe it," she moaned. "I took my computer in to the people who sold it to me a few years ago. They suggested I have the operating system updated but, when I had it done, I discovered they'd lost my internet service." For a gal like Rosie with scads of far-flung friends, being without e-mail was akin to being banished to a... Sign in to see full entry.

She was close to tears as she plunked herself down on the old sofa in the room I optimistically call my office. She was obviously bewildered and upset. "I simply can't believe it," she moaned. "I took my computer in to the people who sold it to me a few years ago. They suggested I have the operating system updated but, when I had it done, I discovered they'd lost my internet service." For a gal like Rosie with scads of far-flung friends, being without e-mail was akin to being banished to a... Sign in to see full entry.