Today I had a doctor’s appointment to find out if I needed any vaccines to go to the Philippines later this year, so I drove onto base and got there about ten minutes early… only to hear a strange alarm sounding and a man in uniform blocking the entrance to the clinic. I rolled down my window (the noise got louder) and the man said, “Ma’am, you’re going to have to turn around. We have a fire.”

Oh yes.

Everyone was standing outside in the parking lot, so I did a U-turn and headed back to another part of the base where I parked and waited for about fifteen minutes before deciding that I’d just go home and try another time. I had to drive past the clinic on the way to the gate, and I happened to notice no people in the parking lot, so I pulled in and went inside.

Everything looked the same, except all of the doors were closed.

People waited in the lobby, the pharmacy area was packed, things were fine. It was weird.

I walked back to my doctor’s office area by the most direct route, thinking how odd the whole thing was and wondering if what I saw was a fire drill, when I realized I’d walked past the entrance to the office. I doubled back and wound up back at the front hallway. Confused, I checked all of the directional signs. The signs indicated I was in the right place… but the office was gone. Instead was a dark room with large, tarp-covered equipment.

By then I was starting to wonder if I was imagining things, but a nurse found me just then and explained that the clinic is being renovated and that dust from the construction set off the alarm as he walked me to my doctor’s temporary area.

Because of the alarm everything was delayed, so I had to wait a little while (no big deal) and finally got into my doctor’s new office. It was tiny, with the equipment hanging on all of the walls and ugly wallpaper and everything that you think of when you think of a typical doctor’s office. When she left to see if I needed any vaccines (apparently I win at the “stump the doctor” game) I noticed that in the corner, above the little exam table, was an 8×10 photo in a frame… Clearly someone trying to brighten the room.

I got up for a closer look and discovered…. well, this.

At that point all I could do was sit down and laugh. Weird doctor visit day.

Oh, and I don’t need any new vaccines. So yay for that.