winkgirl4's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Momma said, \"Stupid is as stupid does.\" You know, a couple of years ago, when the price of purchasing a DVD player had already become quite reasonable, I bought a (replacement) VCR for my son. Yeah, I did it. I overlooked the fact that, eventually, I was going to have to replace all of his beloved VHS tapes with DVDs and, despite all common sense that was telling me to just bite the bullet and upgrade, for convenience sake, I bought the even-cheaper VCR, instead. The sales clerk reached over the huge stack of affordable DVD players to ring up my sale, all the while trying not to say what her expression clearly was: �Are you really that stupid??� And, I�ll admit it. I was. I mean, really. How much could fifteen or so Pokemon DVDs cost, anyway? Right? Guess what else? Once, while waiting in line at the grocery store, I baffled even myself with the irony of placing a $30 Low Carb Lifestyle book on top of my 5lb. bag of potatoes and my loaf of fresh, white �Sunbeam� bread. Then, while the cashier scanned my items, I kept my eyes diverted so as to avoid reading her expression of complete disbelief. Hell, once (and, to my credit, I can say ONLY once), I even paid for TWO full-price tickets to see the movie Aeon Flux. I admit it: I have given people reasonable cause to doubt my intelligence where spending is concerned. And, in turn, have been ready to accept snide and/or mocking comments about those choices. Now, that being said, nothing gets my dander up like paying a person to condescend to me. I�ll give you a perfect example. Imagine: your child runs a high fever for several days, they cough so incessantly that they can�t sleep (even with aid of nighttime cough medicines), they lose their voice, they can barely swallow because their throat is so sore and, when they do, finally, swallow something, it becomes difficult to keep it down. Then, after paying the minimum $65 (and that�s WITH insurance) to see a doctor, the medical personnel treat you like an over-anxious parent suffering from either hypochondriasis or Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome. It becomes all you can do to bite your tongue. �Why yes, Dr. Snidely Smartass, I was aware that there was a virus going around and that it would take time for that to run it�s course but, NOT being a medical professional, I thought that I might (just this ONCE) not assume a prognosis. I thought (this one little, itsy, bitsy time) that I might see what a MEDICAL OFFICIAL might suggest for a little boy whose fever persisted after three days. But you are right: I am a bit over cautious. Lord knows, that Ammoxicillan you are going to prescribe will catch a mighty fine price on the pharmaceutical black market and if I could just trick you into getting us a script, me and the kid will be living high on the hog.� What the fuck? He�s sick, you guys! I guess I could keep him at home and let him suffer through it some more but I would think that anything that persisted longer than three days, especially accompanied by nausea and fever, might just warrant some professional advice. It�s not like I�m going to their house in the middle of the night and offering to barter a couple chickens and some soda bottles for this attention. I�m paying them good money to help me find a way to make my child get better when, clearly, he�s unable to do it on his own. But, to look me in the eye and, seriously, ask me if I was aware that there was a virus going around? I swear to God, it was enough to make me want to say, �If you address me, one more time, with that �tsk, tsk, tsk,� tone in your voice, you�re going to need some medical attention, yourself.� It�s unnerving. And fathers don�t get the same treatment mothers do. You let a father bring in a child with the same symptoms and they�ll pat that poor father on the hand and reassure him with, �You were right to bring him in. Oh no, we don�t expect you to know any better. That�s right� he�s in good hands, now. You just let us fix this.� Whereas mothers, apparently, created the accompanying care manual for their children during pregnancy but didn�t have the good sense to deliver it along with the baby. Instead, every time our children�s noses run, we go and �bother� these poor doctors with our silly illnesses and MONEY! You know what? I don�t care if a mother comes in every time that child takes a skipped breath, if she�s paying for medical advice, the person qualified to take that money and give that advice should do so with the same customer service initiative that they expect from their wait-staff, maids and caddies. By god! Of course, on the other side of the coin, we don�t like the father�s position, either. It�s similar to how we are treated when we walk into any car shop or dealership in the world. They pat us on the hand and baby talk to us. �Ohhhhh, you don�t worry your pretty little head about a thing. Just give us all your money and we�ll make this better. That�s right. There we go. Those transmissions and exhaust systems are big, confusing, dirty things. We don�t want you getting your hands dirty, now do we? Yes, $600 will about cover it. We�ll tell you if we need more, later.� And it doesn�t matter if you spout off every fact and chart from every Haynes or Chilton manual out there. They will still look back at you, glossy-eyed, and pretend that you are their wife and treat you like you just spoke to them in a foreign language. Of course, if they didn�t treat you like you were stupid then how would you know to feel that way- making it necessary for you to seek their advice and services in the first and future place? It�s all a vicious cycle, isn�t it? And I guess I�m just stupid enough to play my part. 4:31 p.m. - February 23, 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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