You might say Utah health clinics are like the theater. That day I walked through those doors fighting a minor illness, yet expecting any moment to run headlong into a scene à la General Hospital. But instead of high drama, there was only a frenetic buzz with courteous receptionists working at their desks as though they were so many bees in a hive, nurses standing at every turn smiling patiently like the Eliza’s for Phantom of Opera. It’s almost Shakespearean.- though with few soliloquies and abundant stethoscopes.

Let’s talk about the smiling faces behind the counters–those who always say “Take a seat” 50 times a day without seeming to wear out. They are the very beat of that whole vast machine, where everything sings along like some Swiss watch. While I was waiting, flipping through ancient magazines, a receptionist with the patience of Job led me through the forms. It was a dance they did well, in fluid and synchronized harmony, matching up masses to trained professionals.

Do you ever engage in the doctor-patient repartee? It is a bit like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle in which your two symptoms-responsible for this process themselves as mere characters in some mystery story-should all hold good on one page. Once I talked to my doctor about how this cough seemed to take peeks like a drama queen. He chuckled, ‘Your coughie rather than villain； it should get a splendid send-off. ‘

In Utah’s clinics, it feels as though you’ve stepped into a different world altogether. They are just a little bit clubby and first name is never important They are good at making people feel at home. It is akin to being seated in the audience for some zany sitcom where everyone knows your name–or, at least, how to pronounce it correctly Every now and then you will see the same faces again and exchange knowing glances. An entire subculture of waiting-room veterans who have mastered the skill by now, scrolling endlessly on their phones for what seems like hours at a time.

That brings us to the topic of physicians. They are detectives but working with a different set of tools. They listen carefully, pausing occasionally for significant concluding thoughts and scribbling notes at a pace only surpased by teenagers when they are texting messages to one another. A friend of mine once insisted that his doctor could read people’s life stories just by looking at their shoelaces, although it seems to me this may be somewhat exaggerated.

Any mention of Utah health clinics would not be complete without mentioning technology. Digital files, virtual conferences on screens and futuristic devices you always see in science fiction stories—they are now part of the scene. It is as though you were watching an episode of Star Trek where the crew decided to become doctors and wound up on the shore of Salt Lake City.

That said, the next time you are down with a cold and end up going to one of Utah clinics don’t forget… it is worth remembering just how much more than treating diseases goes on at these places. They are also a sort of mini theater where experience, a bit of philosophy, and some very deft professional dasations often mix together–to make us well and at the same time smile a little. Or, as the old saying goes: Laughter is good medicine! But clinics ain’t bad either.