So, the Miami Heat took
care of the Indiana Pacers in six games; not bad… Now they will meet the Boston
Celtics in the East Finals… No pun intended, but that series is a different
ball game… Don’t have any expectation of the Heat coming on top on this one;
although they looked really competent in the first game spanking they gave the
Celtics…
Recorded the first two
parts, and will record the third and last part today, of the Hatfield &
McCoy mini-series in the History Channel… Kevin Costner (Hatfield) and Bill
Paxton (McCoy) play the main roles. I’ve often heard about that feud in the
Northern Appalachians (somewhere in Kentucky and West Virginia), but I don’t
know how it all started or ended. Looking forward to the whole thing…
Spent this past week-end
in the North-West part of the Atlanta metropolitan area helping Alex look for,
and secure, her new apartment. She found, and contracted for, one in
Alpharetta; I am very happy with her choice. It is a 1/1, on a 3rd floor,
on an excellent location, well kept complex, very attractive floor plan, and 15
minutes door-to-door to/from work. She will be moving towards the end of June
(expected at work in Alpharetta on Monday July 2nd) and I will
probably be playing a role on the loading, driving and unloading a moving truck
sometime towards the end of June…
Keep an open eye (very
open, I’d say) on the weather, folks… There is some weird stuff happening out
there (have you seen the movie “The Day After Tomorrow”? Catch it one of
these days, if you can…) It is only the middle of spring and already summer
temperature records are being challenged, if not broken! Before
Memorial Day, there had been already three named storms (one Pacific and two Atlantic)
with one of them getting very close to a Cat 1 hurricane; very, very weird.
Those of us who think we can continue to send thousands of tons of fossil fuel
residues into the atmosphere on a daily basis without having to worry about it,
may find it may be time to worry about it! More drilling may not be, after all,
the best way forward; more coal and hydrocarbons burning may not be the best ‘long
term investment’ for our grandkids and their grandkids to enjoy life
on this 3rd rock from the Sun…
So, we’ve talked about
several aspects of living in ‘these here mountains”… Today, we will talk
about Health Care, and here we go… There are no private practice doctors
available in Van Buren County; there are nurse practitioners who have open
clinics in Spencer, but no doctors (although there may be a supervising
physician visiting the clinic every so often; I don’t know…). For you to find
and see a doctor you must go to Sparta, White County, 30 minutes to the North,
or McMinnville, Warren County, 30 minutes to the South West. My new doctor, Dr.
Baker, is in Sparta; my old doctor, Dr. Jamieson, used to be in McMinnville
(she moved back to Saskatchewan, Canada). There are county hospitals in both
Sparta & McMinnville with the latter one being bigger and looking much
better than the former (visited a friend in McMinnville's
Hospital last winter and I was positively impressed) . The closest bigger
and better equipped hospital though is in Cookeville, Putnam County, about one
hour to the North. After that, you are looking at Nashville (two hrs.
away) where you find 1st tier Medical Care (Vanderbilt and St.
Thomas to name a couple). Pharmacological logistics are easier to fulfill.
There are the typical chain outlets (CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, etc.) in both
Sparta & McMinnville; and we have a pharmacy in Spencer, Spencer Drug Co.,
which opened last year. It is run by a local pharmacist who came back to town
after school; she is a delight to deal with; prices are competitive and service
is superb! The last aspect of Health Care is Emergency Services; I have not
tried them yet (thank God) but, when Sammy had a heart attack this past year,
and he lives about five miles east of us, a Med-evac chopper showed up – at
2:00 AM – ready to lift him to Cookeville; they would have done it had he not
been so afraid to fly! Now, some of us are relatively healthy and get by with
the typical yearly visit to the doctor (whether you need to or not) and that’s
it; that works well. If, however, we need to see doctors and specialists all
the time, either naturally or by other causes (Hypochondria), we will be
spending quite a bit of time (and gas) on the road to Medical Centers yonder
where those species are more commonly found! So, as we grow old(er) and our
medical care needs change, there may be some challenges and opportunities we
may need to face and conquer; but, for now, all is well in Paradise!
Now, food for thought…
“Confidence comes not
from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.”
- Peter T. McIntyre
So, stay confident, my
friends…
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