devoid
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- kingjulien
I don't have health insurance, and I've already stiffed 2 emergency rooms in my area, so when this rash appeared on my leg, it was time to suck it up and visit the county health clinic. For those of you who don't know, the county health clinic is the lowest of the low, it's hell on earth, where old pimps named Otis lurk on the payphones for pregnant 16 years, where the crackhead who lights his nose on fire seeks treatment, where medication is dispered in brown paper bags and the security guards are in worse shape than the patients. It's a freak show, plain and simple, and there I was, seeking purity and redemption and ultimately, a steroid cream that would make Barry Bonds proud.
In the 5 hours that I waited, I was propositioned 3 times (once by this guy who had an uncanncy resemblance to Meatloaf in Fight Club), was offered rock twice, and was spit on by a toothless grandma who was upset because she was only given 4 bandages for the wound on her arm (and who damn near broke the bulletproof window with her cane demanding to see a Supervisor.) In the pharmacy line, I stood behind a transexual hooker named DeeDee, who wore white hotpants, and who could have crushed me arm wrestling any day of the week. I sat next to Hmong immigrants who spoke no english, I shot dice with brothas just out of the pen, and I nearly cried when this adorable 4 year old Mexican girl was smacked by her stepfather for not sitting still.
You realize in these moments why everybody is so disgruntled with the system. The staff is overworked and underappreciated. The patients, while they're getting free care, know that it's just patchwork, fixing holes rather than attacking the deeper problem, and they're cynical of everybody and everything--some of it real, some of it imagined. It's a world devoid of hope, and yet it's life, warts and all. I was lucky enough to walk away humbled (and recovered), but some of these folks, they're never getting better, and they know it, and that look in their eye says it all.
- brandelec0
the king is king.. again
- tny0
- mogwai0
nice. yes i've been there. very similar situation at the Day Labor office, if you've ever tried that.
I swear nothing gets my blood boiling than seeing some pissed off mama smack her cutie in public.
- haverhill0
You are a great story teller.
All the greats pay close attention to the details, cause it's the details that make the story come to life.
You are a king.
And you should have kicked that old hags ass for spitting on you. Teach that bag of goo a lesson.
- Mimio0
Take pictures next time.
- rasko40
LOL @ 'Take pictures next time.'
good one julien.
- Rand0
my only complaint is that your thread titles should contain the word KingJulien so I know to read them sooner