19/365 Spiritual Malpractice

The doctor is running late
by 45 minutes
A kind-eyed elderly man
in the waiting room
lets a paper slip from his hand
to the floor
He makes a feeble attempt to bend down
clearly unable to retrieve it comfortably
I rise to help him
hand him the page
He thanks me, appreciative
"Bad hips," he explains
Tells me I look familiar
He's wearing an I©Jesus lanyard
I make an assumption
tell him where I go to church
"Never been there," he informs me
"Only once for a wedding."
He tells me the entire story of the wedding
The telling takes longer than the wedding itself
Each of us knows
we've got a long time to wait.
He says he goes to a different church,
7th Day Adventist
Where he likes the sabbath school a lot
but the service, it depends who's running it
and he doesn't care much for "the colored people."
My face registers a response
to which he replies,
"I don't hate them or anything. 
It's just that they're always so miserable to deal with."
He assures me he's "not prejudice"
I try to interrupt, in vain
An he tells talkes of the neighber
who moved away
and rented his trailer to "some of them"
How he'd warned the guy ahead of time
How they'd trashed the place
Fists through walls
And didn't pay.
I assure him most tenants are like this.
No one treats a cheap rental like it is their own home.
He tells me hs neighbor called him racist
for saying such a thing.
"Now he's got nobody in there," he sighs,
"has to fix the place all up again."
He taps his fingers in justification.
"I told him he needs to rent
to an older white couple.
They always know how to set their money aside.
I told him that."
The nurse calls my name before I can
decide how best to respond.