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4.2.12
WC: 191694

The case of the Vibrating Beeper

A guy I knew from Yeshiva called me one day to tell me that his son, a medical school graduate who was interning at a New York hospital, had just been suspended for masturbating in front of a nurse. His residency and medical career were in danger. The young man was engaged to a wonderful woman and my friend knew he could not have been guilty of this offense. When I met with him he explained that his fiancé would pick him up from work with her car after she completed work. She was to signal him when she was outside by calling his beeper. Because the hospital forbade use of the beeper for private calls, the young doctor always put it in his pocket on vibrate. One day when he was talking to a nurse, the beeper went off in his pocket. Fearful that she would see it, he fumbled around in his pocket to find the off switch. She misunderstood his actions and that of the vibrating beeper for masturbation.

I told him that he had to tell the truth, because the offense of using his beeper improperly was trivial compared to the offense with which he was charged. He agreed. He asked me to speak to his supervisor. I borrowed his beeper, put it in my pocket and went in to speak to the supervisor. At a prearranged moment, he phoned the beeper and it began to vibrate in my pocket. The supervisor saw my vibrating pocket. I quickly retrieve d the beeper and the case was over. Demonstrative evidence always works better than oral testimony.

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