Our return to the states and choice of northwest Georgia went smoothly; much smoother than we expected. We soon felt at home and comfortable, but we did notice what I will call subtle changes in the ten years we had been gone. On the national level we noticed changes in television programming including the program offerings and the amount and types of advertising. On the local scene there were some instances that didn't sit too well with us. Nothing earth-shattering but they did kind of stick in our craw. I want to comment about them but first let me say that I am not a cynic or skeptic. I do admit to occasional sarcasm but most of the time it is tongue-in-cheek. Let me start with television.
For example, yesterday morning I was watching a news program, and at the same time reading the little headline banner that scrolls across the bottom of the screen. There was something written about Trump (what a surprise) and the fire in Australia, but sandwiched in between was, "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will no longer use their royal titles." My immediate thought was, "Wow!...how am I going to get through the day with that on my mind!, and what will that startling revelation do to the Dow-Jones average!" I mean come on, who but the royal family would give a fig about that? Surely there is something of more importance in the world that could have occupied that space in the banner.
I spend a lot of time thinking about human activity in general. Often the human condition, and by that I mean the things we do, value, believe, and the things that interest us puzzles me. Back to that news program I mentioned. About one-third or more of it is interrupted by commercials, many of which are by local law firms. Their message usually goes something like this:
"Have you, through no fault of your own recently pricked your gum with a wooden toothpick made by the Acme Toothpick Company? If so contact us immediately and let us fight for the compensation you justly deserve for pain and mental anguish, lost wages, and the emotional suffering of you, your family, your dog, pet canary and houseplants. And your dentist, priest, mail carrier, check-out clerk at the grocery store, car mechanic, and your distant cousin Norm living in Fairbanks who hasn't seen nor communicated with you in years but often thinks fondly of you. Call us day or night because, justice.......never.......sleeps!" Oh boy!
Did you ever notice how the word "big" is a dirty word with these guys? They're ready to take on "big business" and "big oil", and "big government" and "big insurance companies" for you. I have no doubt they would be willing to tackle "big toothpicks." How is it they never mention "big law firms?"
Another group of advertisers is those selling one of the eight zillion over-the-counter drugs. These products are supposed to help alleviate every know disease and as an added bonus will ward off diseases not yet discovered. To me these claims are just as unethical as those of the lawyers. Each year we spend billions of dollars for over-the-counter drugs, creams, salves, liquids and patches for which there is absolutely no medical proof that they work. Even the innocuous vitamin and mineral supplements dutifully taken by millions everyday have not been proven to provide any benefit at all. The next time you go into your health store for turtle mucous pills or whatever, pick up a bottle; any bottle and read the label. This is what it will say:
"This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."
That's pretty clear. Whenever I get into a discussion of this nature and mention the above, the other person will usually respond with, "Well, I know my body and this stuff works." That always ends the discussion. That person has voiced a personal belief, and a personal belief cannot be refuted. It's always been my thought that a personal belief should be based at least partially on some sort of quantifiable evidence, but that's me.
There are towns and villages in Peru where you can hire a shaman to come to your house to deal with whatever illness you have. He will have many cures, some involving magical objects, smoke, incantations and the like. One of them may be to have a gerbil run over the patient's body, taking in to its own body whatever is causing the illness. The evidence for the success of this treatment is just as strong as the evidence for vitamin supplements and the other OTCs. And for any doubters the patient can also add, "Well, I know my body and this gerbil works."
While on the topic of medicine, let me comment on an incident that happened shortly after out arrival in Georgia. After we were settled in we thought it would be a good idea to establish a relationship with a medical clinic and primary care doctor. I did an internet search and found one nearby that seemed popular with good reviews. I phoned and explained to the woman who answered that we were new to the area, had found the clinic on the internet and wanted to make a get-acquainted appointment with one of the doctors. What I expected was for her to say something like welcome, how do you like the area, and thanks for calling our clinic. That would take maybe twenty seconds. That's not what she said.
The first words out of her mouth were a monotone, "What insurance do you have?" I immediately formed an image of white walls, white plastic furniture and white plastic peoplebots. I don't think I intentionally intended to do it, but I blurted out, "That's your first words to me...what insurance do I have." Her response in the same monotone was that they had to determine if they could accept me as a patient. I responded that I had determined that I could not accept their facility as my clinic, said goodbye and hung up. Maybe my response was unreasonable, but I believe that she, being the first point of contact with a new potential customer did not do a good job of representing that clinic. I wonder if they ever talk about customer focus in that facility? In contrast, the clinic, its staff, and the doctor we have now all get an A grade from us in competence and customer focus.
There is one more medical incident to talk about, and I admit that this one still grinds on me. My vision in both eyes was starting to blur on the edges. Not too bad, but it was there. And the halos from cars and streetlights at night were starting to interfere with my night driving. An eye doctor confirmed that I needed cataract surgery on both eyes. He explained the procedure and showed a video to me of patients removing the after-surgery patches from their eyes and exclaiming how wonderful it was to see normally again. To cut to the chase, when he removed the patches from my eyes, everything was a blur. He had screwed up my eyes. His explanation was that eye doctors took a series of measurements, entered them into a computer and an algorithm spit out the correct lenses to use. He said my eyes were unusual in that they ,"...didn't fit the standard bell-shaped curve", so the wrong lenses were put in. I asked him if he now knew what the correct lenses were and he said he did but that to remove the lenses now in place he would have to cut them in half before removing them and that was too much risk.
What bothered me was his casual attitude, as if he had no responsibility, and what happened to me is just the way it goes. Well that's not just the way it goes. I had serviceable vision when I walked into his office, and now I had none. He said he could correct the entire problem with glasses. After three weeks the glasses arrived. They didn't work. They gave me distance vision, but everything near was blurry. I went back to the clinic and his assistant measured my eyes again. I think the doctor did not want to face me again. A new set of glasses were ordered, and this time they worked. But now I am totally dependent on glasses. I wasn't in the past. The doctor has recently retired, and in my experience and opinion, that is probably the best service he has provided to the community.
I'm sure that the lawyers and television pill pushers I mentioned are nation and maybe even world wide. There is no escaping them. The local things I commented on are in the past. There is a lot that is pleasant and feels good about this area, and I intend to write about them as time goes on.
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