by colambo » Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:50 pm
Username; s i r e n .
Gender; male
Why the mustache?; That part of the Hippocratic oath echoed in his mind.. "practice our science and our art.. art..." art! Medicine was considered an art, but what came to Gregory's mind was the paintings on the wall. Gregory was a doctor with a passion for graphic design and fine art, especially realism. in the painting The Agnew Clinic (1889) by Thomas Eakins, there is a surgeon with a great, voluminous mustache. Gregory thought it was a fantastic style for a doctor like himself, but was unsure about actually growing it. Nowadays, most older kalons or even humans don't have great mustaches anymore. He'd feel like he was sticking out in a crowd.
Everyday in his office, Gregory passed the painting. When he stopped to look at it, he admired the surgeon's facial hair. Sometimes he found it odd that the surgeon's face was exposed during an operation, but it was art, from over 100 years ago. It could have been just the artist's portrayal!
Gregory needed a second opinion (LOL! cheesy pun, sorry), so he decided to consult his (technically adopted) son, Archie about it. He called Archie, to see if he could visit. It was a fine summer saturday, the grandkids were there and Archie, the surgeon, wasn't on call.
Gregory pulled up to Archie's beautiful home in his little red Corvet. He opened the door, showing its black velvet interior. Gregory's firey shine glared in the hot summer sun. He adjusted his round sunglasses as he walked to the door. He rung the doorbell. There was a bit of a wait before Archie came to the door, to Gregory's dismay. It was about 90 degrees outside, a bit hot for a fur coat! Finally, the door swung open.
"Hi dad!" Archie greeted him warmly, with Victor wagging his little tail behind his dad.
"Grandpa!" the kit latched onto Gregory as he entered the building. The grandkalon already needed to cool down.
"Grandpa's here?" asked a surprised Edwin. He ran into Gregory, joining Victor in the group hug.
"Get off me!" Gregory snapped, almost suffocating from their long fur. They ran away. Gregory sat on the living room couch, by the cactus.
"Dad, I have some work to do. There's been an increase in patients lately." Archie said seriously and left for his study. Gregory watched T.V. as Archie was at his desk writing patient files for his work.
(Time skip) Dinner was prepared by Archie's husband, Joel. They all sat at the table eating sushi, black rice, and plates of dill seasoned salmon. They were pretty quiet, other than the sound Edwin eating like a dog, until Archie spoke up.
"Anything new, dad?" he said before picking up another piece of salmon.
"Ah, yes. I was thinking about growing a mustache, a rather large one. What do you think of that? Mustaches are unusual, aren't they?" he asked, nervously. Archie closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples. He couldn't believe his dad's ..ignorance? He opened his eyes and stared intently at his dad.
"Dad, this is the new age! It's the age of individuality, self-expression, and tolerance. Just be yourself. You don't have to be ashamed of your style. Although, it's an antiquated style, you don't have to be afraid to bring it back. If your own self-expression is the revival of the mustache, so be it. That's how trends are made." Archie picked up a piece of sushi, filled with cream cheese and cucumbers. Gregory sighed.
"I don't want my colleagues or higher ups to judge or dislike me for it, though." he said seriously. Archie glared at him.
"You're a doctor not a model. Medicine is an intellectual based persuit, isn't it?" Gregory was stunned with epiphany. He resolved to grow out the mustache.
"I'll do it!" The family had dinner, and then it was bedtime. Gregory stayed the night, and in the morning he left before they woke up. He just wanted to go to the pharmacy and buy a hair growth serum to kick-start the growth of his new mustache.
Gregory drove his Corvet to the 24 hr pharmacy by his house. It was about 4:30 AM. When he parked the car and got out, he looked up. That morning star caught his eye. Or was it a planet? Whatever it was, it's beauty made him almost tear up. It looked so hopeful, it seemed to be an omen of sorts, perhaps an omen of happiness? He tore his eyes from the sky and walked into the small lit up pharmacy. He walked through the cluttered store. Past the shelves of cough medicine and others, he found the hair medicine aisle. Picking the perfect one up confidently, he went to the clerk's desk. Gregory purchased the hair growth serum from a cheerful, bespectacled young kalon. Then he was on his way.
Gregory drove home. When he entered his house, he immediately went to the bathroom to apply the hair growth serum onto his muzzle. Then he went straight to bed and fell asleep again. He slept until 1 PM. it was Sunday, after all. Monday would be another busy work day. When he awoke, he finally made some breakfast. A bowl of mini-wheat cereal. He went to get the mail, bowl in hand. There was a postcard.
"You are invited to this medical convention, doctor!" Gregory read the title aloud. The postcard specified the address for the convention. The invitation seemed to have arrived a bit late! The time for the event was 5 PM that day! He decided to go, though. He had plenty of time to get ready. He leisurely walked back into his house, entered the bathroom and looked into the mirror. the mustache was already grown?!? It was considerably large, but it looked great! Just like that surgeon from the beautiful painting.. He had only a few things left to do to get ready. He got all dressed up and left the house.
Gregory drove his corvet 20 mins through the neighborhood. He stopped at a large building. it was usually vacant.. since the medical association rented it for today, it became lively! There were doctor kalons everywhere. He was right on time. He got out of the car and strutted confidently through the door, mustache and all. He ended up at a big table with a neuroscience exhibit. It wasn't his specialty, but he was a little interested in it. One of the doctors was surprised to see a kalon with such a big mustache, or rather just a mustache at all. They didn't say anything, but rather admired it from afar. It was pretty handsome.
ideas:
at the medical convention, gregory's mustache is criticized by a colleague but he tells them what archie said and puts them in their place
"Well done, doctor."
1,100+ phew still wrking on this tho!!
Last edited by
colambo on Sat Jul 29, 2017 10:26 am, edited 28 times in total.
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