As Mark Twain is supposed to have said, There’s a difference between a horse chestnut and a chestnut horse.

I would argue that words can convey emotions, even when not intended.

In the sign at right, which I found outside a medical building where very serious things occur, I wondered about the concept of “loading” and “unloading” patients.

As someone who transported corpses to the hospital morgue in a previous life, I wondered if “loading” conveyed the intended meaning.

Perhaps “pickup” and “drop-off” might have been better as well as shorter.

After all, what are patients? Sacks of potatoes?