For What It’s Worth

Sitting, waiting, watching those around me. Most are on their phones, engulfed by some attention grabbing app, Social media, mobile games, dating sites, who knows what else. Most observers, would pass the same judgment of me. My face is here in my phone, none knowing that I’m observing them. Watching, listening, wondering who they are? I’ll never truly know these individuals, but for the snippets into their lives by way of their stories.

I catch her glancing at me from the corner of my eye. Does she recognize me? Or is it perhaps a case of mistaken identity? I’ll never know, as they call for Stephanie, this lady rises and walks away with the assistant. Close call, who wants to deal with small talk and chitchat as they wait for their moment to move into an exam room. As I wait in this second round of waiting rooms, I ponder this routine of the American healthcare system. It’s like a machine, dumping people in, while churning out the product. No one wanting to call us what we truly represent to this society as a whole, consumers.

Let’s listen in to the young lady that was seated next to me in the former room of patients with patience. She was lodging a complaint about how her significant other was not allowing her access to credit cards. Due to the addiction of consumerism I would be an ass and go out in a limb to assume. Does she spend to much? Is that what upsets her partner? Is she upset at him because the problem is he doesn’t make enough? Where, and how do they come to a compromise? What lines have been blurred, which one’s crossed?

Drifting away as she was called by the attendant, I focused on an older couple. They were late sixties or early seventies. I heard his gruff exterior, seen it as well. Was he upset due to the fact that what appeared to be his significant other had a serious stroke or trauma that left her speech and physical condition impaired? Dismissing this idea immediately as his harder shell faded away with warmth as he responded to his wife. It was his wife no doubt, they had each other. Seeing only a swift moment, a moment of care, compassion, a brilliant flash of love radiates about them.

I smiled towards them but neither looked up as I passed them, making my way with Gail, the lady assigned to deal with me, to the next rest stop for the doctor’s arrival. It was here I started thinking about all these things transpiring in my life. Why are we such vicious, consumer, creatures. Just driven far beyond to purchase and be purchasers.

Well, my eye exam went well. Eyes healthy, script holding strong. Did have to relinquish my battle against aging and sign the surrender. The conditions of my surrender is the badge of the old ones, bifocals. Besides that my eye exam was just a standard day in the life process of giving me very little for inflated amounts of currency it takes. But tomorrow is a new day, a whole new beginning.