I love to ask questions. I attribute it to my many years as a freelance writer where I had to perfect the art of asking questions that elicited interesting answers without intimidating my subject.
Which is why I’m acquiring the habit of asking one question a day at the radiation oncology department. That’s all I have time for, because the entire procedure is quick. Over the course of six and a half weeks, however, I’ll have a fount of information.
Today’s question was, “Why does the machine make so much noise?” The first time I was “radiated,” I was positive Liam was broken, but evidently that’s his normal behavior. The technicians are probably used to the noises, which they hear from another room anyway.
So I paid particular attention today and here is my assessment. Liam starts by sounding like an electric razor, then moves into a high-pitched sound, before making a noise like the furnace blowing hot air. Every now and then there are some clicking sounds that make me think Liam is a photographer in his spare time. And finally, the bed I rest on tends to move a little this way, a little that. It reminds me of being in a car on the roller coaster that is slowly cogging to the top of the first hill.
All this takes about five minutes, and I’m willing to bet it won’t be much longer before I will be as used to the noises as the technicians are. Still, maybe someone else will find this useful.
Now to come up with tomorrow’s question.
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