Recently we arranged a visit to the doctor, who in frantic tones described the many maladies he had encountered just that morning in his other patients. “One young man just contracted ____, which means he will probably not live more than _____; meanwhile the drugs I prescribed for Ms. _____are not exactly helping with the loss of her _____ ; another patient confronted me with a serious rash in the region of his _____ (and I trust you know what that means) while yet another is complaining of debilitating pain whenever he tries to _____.” The doctor paused for a moment and nibbled on the end of his pen as he glanced over our charts. “But I have to tell you, nothing was as alarming — truly, frightening! — as the man who just left.”

“Oh? And what was wrong with him?”

“It was very sad,” the doctor sighed. “Physically it was just a slight case of ____, easily curable with a week or so of rest and contemplation, but we got to talking and this man — and he was already 56 years old — had never thought to look in the mirror and utter the question why!”