the walmart pharmacy

So here we go again... We finally broke down and went to the Dr.'s office last Monday, because it just seems like we were never very well, and got Rx's for all of us boys. Isaiah had some really nasty yellow pus-like substance oozing out of one ear, and Dr Barker gave him some stuff to take care of it. Well, it didn't and so back Brynn went to Dr. and the general idea is that there is likely something in there, like a small Lego, a peanut M&M, or perhaps an Easter egg for all I know. He would do it, too, if he thought he would get a laugh out of you for it. Well, after listening to Brynn recount the Boy's Dr. office visit, I was really proud of him... without ever admitting it hurt, even adamantly denying that it did, he still wouldn't let the Dr. get even close to that one ear, while letting him tug on the other one. That's my little tough 3 year old boy, (though he would be quite offended by the title of "little boy"). His little independent spirit came to mind later as I was in line at the Wal-mart pharmacy. I'll come back to that a little later; but first I'd like to dwell a little on Wal-mart itself.
How I despise Wal-mart!! Well, not really Wal-mart, but mostly the people that go there... Not all of them, of course, but it does seem to be the perfect catalyst for producing a great place for the worst people from our planet to come together and show each other their quirks, their tattoos, and WAY too much of their obese bodies. I saw one young gal with that seemingly obvious fashion gaff of wearing a low slung pair of pants with a shirt that didn't come down nearly far enough, revealing a bludgeoning view of skin directly above a remarkably too tight belt that brought to mind things such as... oh say, huge doughnuts, tubing the river, or maybe the "Michelin teenager". Its just the sort of thing that makes me want to go up to the person and tell them that they aren't required by anybody to go forth and publicly disgrace themselves, that a shirt that fit, and pants that were made to actually fit something besides a railroad tie, could cover acres of love handles. but, you know, my social obligations only go so far, and, as my wife is perpetually telling me; I have a rather narrow world view, and despite my recent liberal education completion, it has not really yet proved me liberal-minded.
So let me back up a little. I was on that end of town anyway, so I thought "I'll save some time and beat the after-five crowd at Wal-mart and avoid some weirdos." So I go to the photo place that sent me the email last Tuesday to tell me they had my pictures, only to be told in person that they didn't have my pictures. Well, actually the guy went to the file and looked and then when he didn't find them, he just quietly turned around and started winding film through a machine, not even telling me he didn't find them. I didn't even know that people still used film, and was dazzled briefly by it until I realized that i had (for some reason) ceased to exist to this man behind the counter at the photo counter. After talking to some one else who seemed to have a longer attention span, he searched in vain for my photos, explaining to me briefly the somewhat mystic and awe inspiring powers associated with Wal-mart.com. So, getting skunked there, and feeling somewhat dazed, I turned to go get my Rx from the pharmacy. Imagine my joy when i see a line reaching from the pharmacy counter clear into the main aisle. "ah", I tell myself, "here is a great chance to pause and reflect on the delicacies of being in close contact with my fellow man"... or something like that. After waiting about 20-30 minutes, I am next in line, finally!
Just then a guy comes to the front of the line and exclaims loudly that "wow, what a long line! Oh, man, I'm never going to get to work on time, now... blah, blah, blah" giving the not-at-all-vague impression that it would be much appreciated if I would let him go ahead in front of me. Now, I have always leaned towards punctuality myself, so I had some small amount of concern for this young fella who apparently had never been to walmart before in his life, but i did feel that same "social obligation" rising in my throat. My first, and no doubt, incorrect, inclination was to let him coast on in, but after a moment's reflection i realized that here is a young guy who has had the misfortune of a society that has led him to believe that there is something special about him besides the remarkable "unremarkible-ness" of him. The special-ness he felt was in direct contrast to what the Lord sees in us as valuable created independent beings; in other words, he was very unique, just like everybody else. I thought that perhaps he never had a daddy, just a very doting mama, that was perpetually whispering that he could do anything he wanted to, and instead of being the president, or say, an astronaut, he opted for getting good at cutting through lines at Walmart. So, obeying my "social" conscience, as I am likely to do, I told him where to go...The back of the line of course. It didn't take very long, though before I could hear him again, going through the whole thing to several people behind me, alternating stories between worrying about losing his job if he shows up late, and worrying about the food he had in the oven at home, and sure enough, there he was right behind me, talking this time to him self as my eyes are fixed straight ahead at the now all-too-familiar pharmacist. And since he obviously is not talking to me, since I am obviously not listening, he is telling himself out loud how worried he is becoming about making it on time. So here comes my pesky conscience again, and thinking about my little independent 3-year old stoic patient, I cut the guy some slack, and did him a favor. I turned to him and (to the great pleasure of the old guy sitting at the bench nearby) gave him a gentle, well couched response about exactly how much of my personal obligation and responsibility he was entitled to, to ensure that he get "whatever" out of the oven, or get to work on time, and maybe even gave him a small lesson about working the ETA out and figuring where you want to be when, subtract the time it takes to get there, subtract the time you'll need there, then subtract travel time again, add 10% for each time slot for unexpected events, and then go do it really fast, so that you can go do something else really fast. At least, that's how it comes to mind now, my "social conscience" rises so very quickly sometimes that it has the unfortunate effect of bringing up levels of adrenaline with it, and thereby diminishing my memory, since i cant both remember and yell at the same time. That may be handy at times, but it is just as unhandy at other times. Anyway that was most of my day, the rest of it was spent wondering what kind of medicine could be so important to a guy under thirty that if he is going to burn the food in the oven, or if he will lose his job if he doesn't get to the front of the line wouldn't just wait until tomorrow? oh, well I hope the 6 minutes that i made him wait didn't kill him... I should turn on the news and see if anyone fell dead just outside of walmart. here's to self-sufficiency and independent spirits in our young. They will stand out like a sore thumb in the future. (or at least like a bulbous midriff...) Daniel.