Vito and the MCAT

          

Junior: “Why didn’t you offer Tony an egg?”


Nurse: “I am a registered nurse, not your housekeeper.”

Junior: “Well...did you offer him an aspirin then?”

- The Sopranos

            Before Beth got into medical school, she had to take a standardized admissions exam called the Medical College Admissions Test, MCAT for short. We were surprised when Vito showed interest.

            To encourage him to pursue his dreams, Beth pulled up sample MCAT questions on her computer so Vito could see what it would be like to take the test. She told him that his doctor, a veterinarian, had perhaps taken the same examination.

            At first, he was completely focused on the MCAT. Soon, he began to growl at the computer screen. Beth could see he was upset. She thought the organic chemistry questions distressed him. Maybe the questions that appeared on the MCAT were too hard for his developing brain; after all, the material was very challenging.

            As she dug for an answer, she finally got to the bottom of his anger. It wasn’t what was on the test that frustrated him. It’s what he didn’t see on the test that caused him the aggravation.

            It appears Vito thought the MCAT entailed a bunch of dogs eating cats. Mmmmm … CAT.