Second letter in this Dear Abby column.
(No, don’t ask why I was reading Dear Abby.)
Short version: Person has surgery in the groinal area. Comes into the office on crutches. Doesn’t want to answer the same questions a bazillion times. Sends out pre-emptive FYI email. With picture. Officemates complain. Person is “???” and Abby lays a gentle smackdown.
Apropos of not very much, a year or so ago a woman in my office had breast reduction surgery. And a month ago, a guy had to have a testicle removed. In neither case did anybody want to see pictures. Curious, yes. Visual accompaniment, no thanks.
I can understand wanting to head off the inevitable conversation. But… “Here’s a picture of my business”? Oy.
I was flabbergasted when I read that letter. They felt they just HAD to tell everyone? They never thought to say, “I had some minor surgery for something kind of private, but thanks for your concern.”?
Wonder if it’s my former coworker. He took photos of the birth of his son. Brought 'em to work to share. I was spared, but I understand they were photos of the birth if his son. :eek: The actual birth. In progress. Whatever made him think anyone would want to see that? I’ve often wondered if his wife knew he brought the pics to the office.
You should be grateful for people like him. He puts the rest of us that much further above the average. I will occasionally mention to my manager that the only reason I keep coming back to work is to see what happens next. That one I think I could do without though.
Though I did read his letter to mean that he had provided a link to a medical information website that had a picture of a urethra, not necessarily his specifically. Still, someone needs to take up a collection to buy him a clue. Or at least beat one into him.
I don’t think it’s as bad as you made it out, Cervaise (he included a link that had a picture, not a picture of his particular urethra), but it is still TMI. Yeah, some people do not have a clue how much to share. I would also assume that people can do their own searching if they’re curious, if I even tell them specifically what I had surgery on (but I would be far more likely to use kittenblue’s response).
In Abby’s reply, she said the guy should have “confided in” one co-worker, letting the grapevine do the rest. The way the rumor mill works in most workplaces, he would have quickly become known as the guy with an erectile implant. :smack: For some guys, that might not be a bad thing, :rolleyes: but that wasn’t what he wanted.