A woman called work last week and spoke very quickly and didn’t make any sense at all. She said her son had an appointment scheduled for that day and it was supposed to be with Uli, but the appointment somehow had been made with someone other than Uli. So I asked if she’d like to reschedule the appointment. Oh, no, she said, but she had to talk to Uli about it. Well, of course, if we called Uli to the phone every time someone wanted to talk to her, she’d never get a haircut done, so I asked if I could somehow help. Well, her son is coming to his appointment today, you see (yup, had that part already), but he can’t know she called, because it would be embarrassing for a son if he knew his mom had called. I still didn’t know what she wanted, but I thought, “Oh, teenagers,” and went to get Uli.

So, Uli got off the phone and explained the whole thing. Apparently, the woman was concerned that her son’s hair wouldn’t look as good if someone else cut it, so she wanted Uli to show the other person exactly how to do it. Uli assured her she would and the lady reiterated that the son shouldn’t know, because it would be embarrassing for him. Uli assured her we wouldn’t tell. How old is her son? I asked.

30 years old! The man was 30 years old and his mommy was calling to make sure he got his hair cut right. No wonder she didn’t want him to know. I’m embarrassed for him, just knowing his mom does those kind of things.

And while I’m on the subject of horribleness, I had to go to the dentist again this week and, because I don’t feel completely secure in the German health care system (because I don’t know it very well), I took Flo with me, in case any major decisions needed to be made. The dental assistant brought us into the room, looked right past me to Flo and asked him what kind of pain I have. She didn’t even talk to me! It must have gotten around the office that I’m the american customer and she didn’t think I spoke German, but she didn’t even try! I was so offended. I had to eat ice cream afterward just to calm myself down.