I was visiting at Highline Medical Center the other day. Elsbeth was there recovering from a knee replacement. This is the second time on the prayer bones.

The nurses call her the iron lady. And not because she does a great job on shirts.

As I was waiting by the elevator a big guy walked up and he had paint splotches on his shirt and some had spattered on his neck. He was obviously a man of means and distinction so I asked," Are you a doctor?"

"Yes," he said. "I am a sturgeon."

I was delighted because I needed somebody with an education to run the elevator for me.

So we got in and I asked him if it was okay with him if we went horizontal first before we went vertical, as I would be closer to her room.

He was obviously just out of medical school because we went straight up.

There was a woman on the elevator and her badge said department of collection and I didn't have my wallet on me so I asked what she collected.

She said the word was correction. So after correcting me I asked who else she corrected and she said nobody. It was her job to keep track of crooks.

I thought she said cooks so I didn't tell her I was really good at scrambled eggs and I didn't want anybody keeping track of me and she said she had about a thousand of them and they all lived in that huge brick building by Tyee golf course with the really narrow windows.

I was really curious why they made them so narrow and the doctor with paint on him said maybe because they had a bunch of glass that size they got cheap and they didn't want it to go to waste. I accepted that even though I was not talking to him. Doctors are very smart.

My hearing aid batteries were worn out so I couldn't hear any voice say "number four, sturgery and child berthing," but I got off anyway as I was ready and the doctor did too and I could see he had a shirt with words on his back that said Ernie's Painting.

I thought that was pretty clever. He must get tired of having people ask him what to do for a sore throat or a heart attack. I don't blame him. He has to make a living and can't be handing out free advice to every Dick, Tom and Murray he meets on an elevator.

When I got to the room where Elsbeth was she had one leg sticking up in the air with a big bandage on it. I said something clever like, "Are you sure you will be able to do the polka tonight? I am counting on you to help us win the Dancing with Scars contest."

She pretended like she didn't hear me and played sleepy. But I knew she was faking it. I could smell chocolate on her breath.