I spent four hours today in the Grossmont Hospital emergency room, and I'm happy to say that the medical system in La Mesa, Calif., appears to work reasonably well.

I was injured playing football with some fellow Union-Tribune employees. I thought I may have dislocated or broken my wrist, but, thankfully, the X-rays revealed only an extremely nasty bruise.

In my four-hour stay in the emergency room I saw some very interesting things. But the highlight of the trip was a 55-year-old man who came in because he had been vomiting.

Interesting facts to note about this man: 1) He said he was 55, but he looked 85. Some people have hard lives, and this guy obviously did. Doctors and nurses could not believe that the man was only 55. 2) He was proud to note the fact that he had 28 siblings. Apparently his father got around -- 29 kids by 5 different women.