Receptionist: "Mrs. Smith canceled her appointment."
My Wife: "Why?"
Receptionist: "Take a wild guess...."

My wife works as a physical therapist within the blue collar suburbs of Chicago.

It is common for patients to call up and cancel their appointments because of diarrhea.

Now I just heard this story yesterday, and still haven't fully internalized this. These patients could say anything. "Upset stomach." "Have the flu." "Just not feeling well."

But instead, they're willingly offering up this information. And this isn't just one person, but is SO common, it's become an inside joke among her staff.

I'm trying to understand the social norms behind this story. For instance, I don't believe I've ever used the word in public before. I was under the impression that this was an unmentionable.

Who's the weird one here? Them or me?