People in Elmhurst are hurting

It was simply a case of the right bulbs going out at the wrong time. But passers-by couldn't be blamed for thinking a smirking prankster, or something much darker, was responsible when they looked up at the neon sign for Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, N.Y., which then displayed the ominous phrase "I'm hurt." When The New York Times showed Elmhurst spokesman Dario Centorcelli a photo of what a missing E and S had wrought, he seemed surprised. "Oh, God, are we going to get this fixed?" he wondered.We can only hope the hospital stays more on top of the situation when patients come in hurt and in need of fixing.

I saw this buried in my AOL news headlines a few weeks ago. For some reason, it really caught my attention (and not necessarily just because I thought "How did an employee at the hospital not notice this before?" and "Who the heck hired this spokesperson?").

I thought: How appropriate! It is just so obvious: people that are hurt go to hospitals. It would be as if all restaurants had a sign outside that said, "I am hungry," or better yet a sign outside Nordstrom's that says "I need a shoe fix." (OK - that last one was for me.)

BUT people are hurting in so many ways that do not lead to the hospital: lack of money in this recession and during this time of year when their kids need gifts, marriage problems, their first holiday season without loved ones, etc.

I sometimes wonder if we should not make t-shirts and give them away - a shirt that says, "I hurt." Would it not be a great sociology experiment if people were to wear these shirts when they were having a bad day? Would people ask the wearer about it, or go home and google it because they wanted to know if it was some new cause, or just look at the shirt and ignore it in their busy-ness? In line with my previous "soup" post today about practicing aloha, I think it would be great to picture everyone we encounter as if they are wearing a "I Hurt" t-shirt. Wonder what would happen...