Callous Comics

    Just before I started drawing this comic strip a few weeks ago, one of the hospitals I work in had a fire/earthquake drill.  I was just doing my job when a mind-piercing alarm went off and a lady in the PA system explained what was going on ("This is a drill!").  So I stepped out of my department and DUUUUUHHHH... what was I supposed to do?!  So like any headless chicken I simply followed the crowd.  Disaster personnel would start yelling at me to cover my head with something.  I used the bag which had my cartooning stuff in it.
    As I exited the hospital it dawned on me how massive this exercise was.  There were mock patients on stretchers.  Little dolls took the place of newborn babies.  There's a university connected to the hospital that was involved too and HUGE crowds of students were flowing out the exits in orderly fashion.  A command center sprouted up out of nowhere.  People in hardhats had megaphones to bark orders in.
    There's a park nearby the hospital and that's where I ended up.  People filled the adjacent soccer field too.
    So I just stood around waiting to be told that I could get back to work.  I looked at the crowd and marveled at how many people actually worked in the hospital.  I didn't go to med school there so I knew 1% of the other doctors and nurses.  I remember thinking it was nice to be out in the sun... until I realized that I had my doctor's coat on... in the good ol' tropical heat.
    Finally, we were given clearance to get back in the hospital.  I was grateful for the drill.  At least I know what to do in case of an emergency.  And on a minor note, it was nice to have a break from the normal routine.