Signs

Yesterday afternoon I stopped in front of a closed door with three makeshift signs taped to it. Each was typeset in large, obscene capital letters. In the middle: “ABSOLUTELY NO VISITORS.” To the left: “DIETARY KEEP OUT.” To the right: “MAINTENANCE KEEP OUT.”

A nurse behind me cleared her throat.

“Excuse me,” she said. I stepped out of the way.

She was carrying a square, yellow sheet of plastic. Only when she began taping it to the door did I understand that this was another sign. It said: “CAUTION: RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS.”

I don’t want to know what was going on in that room.

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