I've also had an ENT use a hook to get particularly stubborn wax out

My mother used to do that to me.

(The problem with having an RN for a mother, one who has worked in almost every department in the hospital, is that she has the equipment, the know-how, and the stubborn conviction that she can take care of anything that doesn't require sutures or a prescription at home.)

(And the sutures were a near thing. I know she considered just stitching us up at home. And she always took them out for us.)

I haven't had serious problems since I started doing semi-regular peroxiding of the ear.

Wow, Sparky, what kind of case was it?

Criminal child sexual abuse, involving daycare workers.

Maybe not at the Daley Center one?

That's the one I was on-call for this summer, and it's the only one in Cook County without free parking.

(Boyfriend, not husband, but since we live together, he really is a spousal equivalent.)

OK, now my English as a second language shows. Isn't a long time boyfriend with whom you live it is the equivalent of a spouse? Not in the Husband/Wife meaning, but in the legal and emotional sense of the word?

Also, other stuff I'm confused about. Jury duty? All this talk? It's alien language to me. Wikipedia tells me that since Israel was one of the colonies, and the British Crown abrogated the jury duty in the colonies, we don't have one.

Isn't a long time boyfriend with whom you live it is the equivalent of a spouse? Not in the Husband/Wife meaning, but in the legal and emotional sense of the word?

I think after seven years, it's common-law marriage or something? But my co-worker refers to her boyfriend whom she lives with but has not married as her "partner." Which made me think she was a lesbian at first.

Isn't a long time boyfriend with whom you live it is the equivalent of a spouse? Not in the Husband/Wife meaning, but in the legal and emotional sense of the word?

I think after seven years, it's common-law marriage or something?

That sounds right. Though we haven't been together that long.

my co-worker refers to her boyfriend whom she lives with but has not married as her "partner."

I do that on forms that want a phone number for emergency contact, and they want to know the relationship of the person. "Boyfriend" sounds too junior-high, so I've defaulted to "Partner." But in person I introduce him as my boyfriend.

In a number of ways, you're counted as 'common-law spouses' from the moment you live together here. This causes The Girl and I no end of problems, as we don't want to merge our finances until we're married. There are a few ways that the seven-year rule still counts, like co-ownership of property, but other things kick in early. I presume this is solely to save the government money.

I think common-law marriage is a state-by-state thing. After I'd been living with the same guy for about seven years, it occurred to me (with horror) that we might actually be married, so I checked. To my relief, Tennessee does not have common-law marriage. Or at least, it didn't circa 1991.

"Partner" is very confusing when used by straights. I get why it's used (more serious/adult than boyfriend/girlfriend), but I always think the person is telling me he/she is gay. The straight friend use of "girlfriend" is similarly confusing.

Yeah, I get confused by the "girlfriend" thing too.