Change Is Good, Etc.

Old people generally don't like change very much.

I had been having my prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy for the past, oh, thirty years, but things got so ridiculous, I realized I had to change pharmacies, when the new Walgreens opened here. Gloom, dispair and agony on me.

My pharmacy used to be so handy, right there in the same building as my doctor's office. Then, it was sold to someone who moved to another building, and began systematically screwing up everybody's prescriptions. Oh, they didn't get the meds or dosages wrong, not with mine, anyway. They just became extremely inefficient. At one point, I had a little talk with them about their shortcomings. I got the distinct feeling that I was being looked upon as a dotty little old lady with a gripe.

Every time I went to pick up a refill, they said they only had a certain amount, and I'd have to come back and pick up the rest another day. I started calling in my refill two and three days ahead of time, with the same result. While a rare occurance, at first, it eventually became the norm. Finally, when I got the same note from the doctor twice in a row, telling me it was time for blood work, and I knew that I had just HAD blood work done, I got mad. And, you just don't want to make a dotty old lady mad.

Then, Walgreens came to town. And, this dotty old lady learned that change can be good.

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And, now I have to change peanut butters. It will be almost impossible because there are so many kinds - crunchy, creamy (I like creamy), with grape jelly mixed in (ugh)and laced with honey. Flipping a coin between Jif and Skippy, I bought a small jar of Skippy. I don't expect much, but I'm trying to keep an open mind.

And, hoping that Peter Pan will soon be safe and back on the shelves.

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Every time I read a book by James Michener, I say never again. No more 1000 page tomes full of excruciating details dating back to the dawn of time.

Then, I see another one or two I haven't read and I'm drawn like a moth to a flame. And so, I am now reading "Alaska". I'm on page l38 of 1073. What was I thinking? And, now, I'm hooked. I have slogged through the Russian occupancy, and the U.S. of A has just now bought Alaska and doesn't have a clue what to do with it.

I have always had a fascination with Alaska, though, and I'll hang on every word to the bitter end, though I think it will probably rob me of a month of my life.

Then, I'll start reading "Texas".

Then, I'll swear off Michener, again. Sigh.

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There has been a bit of a debate going on in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Letters to the Editor lately. People are lining up and choosing sides on the issue of tipping or not tipping waitpersons in restaurants. Should we or shouldn't we? How much? Should we allow them to tell us what percentage to tip?

Waitpeople work hard trying to satisfy people like the aforementioned dotty old lady, so I never mind tipping. However, I DO mind the reason why it's necessary. I think restaurant owners should have to pay at least minimum wage. How have we let this travesty go on so long? A tip should be a reward for good service, like a bonus, not a subsidy of someone's pay.

So there.

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Hey, Britney! I don't think a half-day in rehab is gonna do it for ya.