The most critical piece of information, the query that led off our conversation was, did I pass on his greeting? Yes, I did. And I also, I informed him, handed his business card over. Had he written a personal message on it, he prompted me, as though he didn't know what he had himself done. Yes, I responded dutifully, it was a brief greeting and an invitation to get in touch. He is a medical practitioner, someone who likes to be noticed.

He is flamboyant, and certainly more than a little eccentric. His suite, large, spacious, with many smaller examining and equipment rooms leading off the main corridor from the reception area, bulges with antique knock-offs of clocks wagging on the wall, ornate mirrors and paintings, none of them original works of art, skilfully printed and framed looking like what they are not, presenting an overall most fetching atmosphere drawing the eye around and then up to the ceiling from which is suspended all manner of hobby airplane models and blimps.

What he is interested in is the reaction that was elicited by that personal greeting I conveyed, from this city's famed opthalmalgic surgeon who is also tasked with looking after the welfare of my aging eyes and who had performed a vitrectomy on my left eye back in December.

"He smiled", I said.

"That's all?" he asked, obviously disappointed. "And what did he do with the card?"

"The card? Well, he accepted it, looked at the back."

"Did he say anything?"

"Well, no. He placed the card on the desk, set it aside."

"Oh", ruefully.

Fact is he wasn't interested in this communication from an optometrist who suffered from some kind of insecurity complex and was anxious to have the notice of someone higher up in the field of expertise than himself. He wanted to be noticed as someone who stands out, someone unique, and that he most certainly is. He is a poseur, and that is unfortunate. But I think he's also competent as a technician, capable of using the equipment he has to evaluate the formula I require to acquire new eyeglasses.

The surgeon relates to me, when I see him, his busy schedule, his travels abroad to exotic places in the world where medical assistance is rare. He has for many decades of his professional life, dedicated time to aiding people in Third-World countries.

The optometrist, well he is mercenary and self-absorbed and intent on displaying himself as exceptional. He is that.