Thinking I was rather clever, I used to ask, “Why do you think the banks have the nicest buildings in town?” Then, before they could answer, I would: “It’s because they are making the most money”.
Now, I can’t give the same answer. For one thing, banks are not doing as well as at one time. More importantly, there are some businesses apparently making more money. What’s your guess? Look at the stock market. If you said “drugstores” or “pharmacies,” I think you’re right.
Americans are on drugs. Unfortunately, some illegal. Unfortunately, many are over-drugged on legal drugs. Over-the-counter and prescription - Americans are on drugs.
Last week, I watched a video on over-the-counter drugs. I was astounded. Take, for example, Ny-Quil. It’s 37 percent alcohol. That’s 74 proof whiskey. I don’t know exactly what that means, but, pretty potent, I would say. That was just one of many alarming examples.
Lots of people are taking lots of drugs. And, I wonder if the appropriate consideration is being given by the prescribers as to what other drugs are being given/taken and the interaction and interrelation among all the drugs (prescribed and over-the-counter) and their effect on the person.
I’ve got a very close friend who takes well over 20 pills a day. When I saw what he was taking, I was astounded. I hope he needs everything he’s taking. Well, I don’t hope “he needs it,” but what I do hope is that he’s getting what he needs, not more than he needs, and everything he is taking works well together. He has an excellent doctor, so I presume it’s all alright.
But, let’s assume my friend has an emergency situation and has to be administered new and different drugs. Will the proper consideration be given to everything he is already taking? I hope so.
I heard, recently, that we are close to the time when everyone will have a medical card with all his/her medical history on it - kind’a like a personal medical computer chip. Great, and long overdue.
For one thing, it will cut down on the mind-numbing repetition of filling out medical forms. And, for another, perhaps it will help prescribers in avoiding over-prescribing and errant prescribing.
We are getting another drugstore in Perry - a Walgreens. Quite a building at the corner of Ball and Commerce Streets. It’s where Ace Hardware used to be. Perryans, old Perryans, you think this is the first Walgreens for Perry, don’t you? Wrong. Look at Ellie Loudermilk’s book, A Ramble Through Olde Perry, at pages 100-101, and see the very old pictures of Houston Walgreen Agency Drug. I never realized that Houston Drug was a Walgreen Agency, did you?
Some time back, I had a doctor say to me when I was resisting a medicine he wanted to prescribe, “Nobody likes to take medicine,” to which I responded, “No, Doc, you’re wrong, lots of people like to take medicine”. I think I was right.
Some get great joy out of telling friends and relatives exactly what they are taking and why they have to take it. Encourage them and you’ll get lots more information you don’t want.
Got a headache? There must be a 100 “best” medicines. What about a cold (which many, now, characterize as “the flu”)? There’s probably more ‘cold medicine’ in Perry, today, than there was medicine of all kinds in Perry 50 years ago. Medicine to make you start and medicine to make you stop (yes, stop and start several things!). Twitchy legs, itchy feet, thickened nails, and flabby seat. I could go on and on and on and on.
But, you get it: You shouldn’t feel bad or uncomfortable for even a short period of time for any reason. It’s not the American way. The drug boys have something to help every problem you have. And, they’ve got to pay for those big buildings. No wonder there are drugs in our tap water.
Grandma and Papa had castor oil, rubbing alcohol, aspirin, and kerosene. That was pretty much it. And, let me tell you, before you requested any of these relievers (especially castor oil), you were pretty bad off and really needed help.
Move over banks, the drugstores are shading you out. And, it looks to me as if it’s going to be that way for a while, unless, of course, some of the big oil companies decide to locate in Perry.
