As he grew older Mark Twain took to reading the Obituary columns in the newspapers and if he wasn't mentioned there he knew that he could carry on for another day at least. Of course, famously, on one occasion he heard of a report of his death and he was stimulated to send a cable to Associated Press informing them that "Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." I don't suppose that I will get an obituary written about me - not even in a local newspaper. I am slightly less famous than the great American writer. But when I do read the Obituaries - even being secure in the belief that I will never read my own, one way or the other - I am amazed at how often I have never heard of the obituaree. It's the same with the daily lists in newspapers of birthdays. I don't expect to have heard of everybody - no matter how distinguished in their field they had become - but I do think I should have heard of the organisation to which their fame was linked. No such luck. There are numerous organisations I have never heard of and whose purpose is not explained by the title. How about the Female Association [or FA]. What is this about, I ask? Except - one assumes - that it excludes men. Then there is the Grand United Order of Oddfellows [GUOOF] and what am I to make of the Concatenated Order of the Hoo-Hoo, whose head is, apparently, the Grand Snark of the Universe? But in yesterday's Obituary columns there was a piece which most be unique, extolling the qualities of a recently demised dentist. Doctor Michael Nee was, we were told, one of the best. He was said to be a very good dentist. I have no idea; was he good with teeth or did he just have a god bed-side manner? Did The Independent have his obituary ready, on file? Of course, I had never heard of him and although the writer of the obituary obviously regarded Dr Nee very highly, I was left feeling very glad that I had never met him. For starters, he was exceedingly rich; he had a practice in Harley Street - he was richer than I thought; he and all the members of his family were superb skiers - yes, he was very rich; he took numerous holidays - he was indeed rich; and, finally, he was a great and "joyous" golfing companion. That was the last straw for me. I hate golf, golf courses and golfers. Golf Clubs are where the Tory Party plays; where the aspiring social climbers gather; where boredom becomes a blessed relief. David Mills regarded Dr Nee with great affection and I ought not to have taken such a dislike to someone I never met and who, until a few hours ago, was entirely unknown to me. But an obituary for a dentist. There is something not right about it - even if he was exceedingly rich.
/
3 comments:
Not ever having blogged before, I'm unsure of the form regarding replies to vacuous postings, but here goes…
The easy part first - comparisons (by yourself) between yourself and Mark Twain have been greatly exaggerated; it would be apparent to anyone reading your blogs and probably goes without saying.
That you haven't previously heard of someone or some association or group, might simply mean that it's impossible to know of or about everything or everyone. It could also suggest that you're not as clever as you think you are. I know where I'm putting my money.
I'd be interested to read an exhaustive list of those persons you consider worthy of inclusion in the obituary section of either a national or local newspaper. Your prejudice towards those you perceive as 'rich', might well exclude a good number of successful people, as so often a degree of wealth accompanies many who succeed in their chosen field. Once excluded, we might perhaps be left with a rather short list of those who devoted their lives to good deeds for purely altruistic reasons; Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa spring to mind.
Most importantly, Michael Nee was, in every sense, an exceptional man. Certainly a great dentist and hugely respected by his peers, but also an educated, fiercely intelligent and charismatic man with the most wicked sense of humour and a fantastically foul mouth. The sort of man who would make you smile when you thought of him and which many people that knew him (not even all that well) tended to do with an odd regularity, because he was such an interesting fellow.
I knew Michael from when I was 10 or 11 and am now 48. I used to attend his NHS surgery in Edmonton as a boy, but he was such a bloody brilliant dentist, followed him to Harley St, because I would never have let a local quack mess with my mouth. As a matter of record, he used to charge £45 for a check-up - it costs about £35 with NHS dentists, but just imagine the rent and rates he must have been paying to keep a surgery at that address.
He did holiday often - I do too and am far from rich, but choose wisely how I spend the money that I do have, with a constant eye on the fact that life's too short - something that Michael's untimely death underlines rather too well. I suspect his (and his family's) skiing prowess owed more to the fact that his wife is of Scandinavian extraction and they're all pretty good at it in that neck of the woods, for obvious reasons. And while on the subject of his family, it's also worth noting that he was utterly devoted to his significantly disabled son, and about whom he felt nothing but an overwhelming sense of love and pride.
As to whether or not he was rich, I've no real idea. I certainly hope he was comfortable, given that he had been a dentist in a career spanning forty something years. Dying at the comparatively young age of 69 sadly means that he was never afforded the opportunity to fully enjoy and benefit from the fruits of a notable surgeon's life.
I am not related to Michael Nee, I am, or rather was, simply a loyal patient. I don't suppose he would have even described me as more than an acquaintance, but he treated me and a vast number of other devoted patients like long lost friends whenever we met. He also achieved something out of the reach of most dentists - he made a visit to his surgery an almost pleasurable experience.
'Beautiful teeth' was the phrase that tripped off his tongue, when looking into anyone's mouth - imagine it said in a lilting Irish brogue and you'll get the faintest whiff of the rather wonderful man you misjudged. I am extremely glad that at least one broadsheet thought him noteworthy and you would do well to refrain from snap judgements based on little more than a narrow-minded attitude and a good deal of ignorance.
He was a fine man who made my life richer for knowing him - and he was just a dentist. Go figure!
I never write on blogs like this but am extremly angered by the comments made regarding Michael Nee. How can you make such judgment on someone you have never met.
I worked for Micahel as a temporay nurse. On working with Michael he was very particular, articulate, and worked with perfection. He sense of humour was fantastic and as for patient care you could not find a better man.
I had worked in dentistry for 9 years and Michael was one of the top 2 dentist I have ever worked with (and I had worked with over 250 dentist).
When I started working at another practice, with a dentist that was no where in the same league that michael was (but thought he was), I had a lady that cam in with her face smashd in from a fall and all her front teeth had been broken. The dentist I worked with saw ££££ signs with this lady and arranged a costly and inaduate treatment plan. I calld the lady that night and offered her Michaels number to just get a second opion.
She was seen by Michael and treated well. She called me after the treatment to thank me for sending her to a dentist who not only made her gain trust in a dentist again but who gave her a beautiful smile.
Michael Nee was a excptional man and dentist who worked hard and DESERVED all the holidays he took. From the orginal comments made i can only come to the conclusion that you are a person with obvious issues in life, maybe bullied as a child? (if not you should have been) regardless you will never match up to even 1% of the man Michael was.
If I met you, I would make sure you'd need a dentist.
Post a Comment