It’s hot in Houston, but I try to walk a few nights a week when I’m here. Our hotel is in Houston Medical Center, which is not a building but an entire section of town. They leave the cutest bottles of water in my room every day and the housekeeper signs personal notes. It’s fancy.

The area is crowded and fast-moving and always under construction. On the other hand, the variety of quality restaurants boggles the tongue. If you’re ever in a strange city looking for good food, look near medical buildings. Anywhere you see happy people in scrubs is a great choice.

While out walking, headphones on, I can’t help but admire the buildings around me. These are cancer specialists, heart institutes, children’s hospitals… I’m not sure it’s even OK to find them impressive or interesting – but they are.

I was a bit lost in thought when I passed a particularly long stretch of glass, behind which was a virtual forest of strange mechanical creatures, looming and lurking, squatting and spinning, in every shape, size, and configuration. It was a moment before I figured out they were medical exercise equipment. You know – physical therapy, stretching, strengthening, rebuilding, repairing, and all that. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what most of them did. Some looked… complicated.

I realized I was standing there, slack-jawed like a tourist from Bubbaville, amazed by these… magical creations and all they could do. At the same time, I had no idea how half of them worked. Not that I needed to, I suppose. That’s for the medical types, right? The therapists and physicians and other “healthcare professionals”?

Which started me wondering, how were THEY supposed to know what these things did? The folks who make and design medical exercise equipment aren’t the same people who use them. They’re certainly not the ones buying them. Medical professionals have endless resources for information on pharmaceuticals, surgical equipment, treatment breakthroughs, but I’m not sure anyone can peruse a few dozen bizarre machines and magically know how each one works and why simply because they have a medical degree.

I’ve never been to medical school, but I’ve watched a lot of doctor shows and I’m almost positive that’s not covered in your standard internship.

I almost approached two techs at the salad bar, but they were deep in conversation and I didn’t want to seem, you know… creepy. I took pictures instead (of the medical exercise equipment, not the techs). Still weird, I guess, but you never know when you’ll have the chance to pull up the images and ask.

I drank both cute little waters when I got back to the room. It’s hot in Houston.