The travails of the beginning of the school year for a loner teacher

[Warpy]

2. I was a loner nurse

and I took my cue from showbiz: being on the job was playing a part and that distanced me just enough that I could manage meeting a dozen or so new people every week, people who were definitely not at their best, and coping with them and helping them get well.

There was only one nurse I ever worked with who had a religious axe to grind and she very wisely avoided trying to grind it on me. I guess she realized I know a lot more words than she did.