I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. They were an hour behind in getting patients in. Needless to say, I had to practice some patience. I sat there for over an hour, and the conversations around me were interesting, to say the least. To give you an idea of what the conversations were about, let me add it was an OBGYN's office. lol Moms discussed pregnancy, labor and delivery, weight gain and weight loss, and everything in between. i kind of felt sorry for the lone dad in the room and the boy who sounded about twelve. Along with the conversations, there was a 14-month-old who cried because her mama wouldn't let her explore the trash can. Ha! The twelve-year-old boy and his brother were watching YouTube videos on their phones and blowing up the latex gloves someone had given them and making the baby laugh out loud.
Later on, I was at the hospital for some pre op testing, and the RN took my temperature by running the end of the thermometer over part of my forehead and the side of my neck. My temperature had been taken this way before, but I found myself thinking, "Wow, technology sure has come a long way." I mean, think about it, y'all; it wasn't all that long ago when doctors could only guess at our bodies' temperatures. I'm sure they knew what was too hot and what was all right, but still… With blood pressure cuffs hooked to machines that check the blood pressure of a patient at the touch of a button, thermometers that only need to touch a portion of the forehead to check body temperatures, and a machine that beeps to let the doctor know when he or she has successfully intubated, who said I couldn't be a brain surgeon? ;)
Later still, I went shopping and found lots of things I wanted to buy. There were shoes, sheets, blankets, halloween costumes for kids, and I'd better stop there. :) So much stuff in that store, and while there's nothing wrong with buying, as long as I had the money, what long-lasting purpose would that stuff have served? No doubt, the shoes would have fit me. I could have worn them to church and everywhere. No doubt 2 or more sets of sheets would have been nice. But, I only needed one set. No doubt the blankets would have been nice to curl up with on a cold day, but I have blankets…and heat for the winter months. No doubt those costumes would have looked beautiful on my little girls, but I'll find some less expensive ones, somewhere else. After all, they will only be able to wear them once.
The last stop for the day was at the new Walmart. We ate dinner at Subway while the pharmacy filled prescriptions. When the meds were ready, we got a couple of other things we needed, then left. Our new Walmart isn't as large as some, but you can still buy groceries, toilet paper, prescriptions, clothes and an already prepared dinner, all at the same time. To most folks, a Walmart store is the next best thing to sliced bread. They love it! One lady said, "I just love the idea of buying a package of panties, my medicine and a box of cereal, all without leaving the store." Hate to break it to y'all, but this idea is not a new one. REmember stories about those old general stores? Yep, you got it! Walmart might be wonderful, but all it is, is a modernized general store. Hmm, kind of makes me wonder in 50 years or so, if the world's still standing, if someone will say, "Gee, I think we need specialty shops. How about we market a new idea? Let's have a butchery, a bakery, and a store just for fresh produce." If that happens, someone will blog and say, "These aren't new ideas, after all." :)
So, that's what's on my mind, today. Told you it would be a nixed bag of stuff. If I had to sum it all up, guess I'd say that people are funny, technology is great but not perfect, stuff don't really matter even though we think it does, and very few ideas are as new as we think they are.
Any thoughts? Questions? Admissions? Confessions? Rebukes? Comments? Would love to hear from my readers, so please feel free to comment or drop me an email at
ShannonNicoleWells@suddenlink.net
Be sure and come back Friday! Not sure what I'll be doing, but planning something good!
Lol. I liked your comments about people-listening. I'm a writer myself and my writer friends are always saying to use my ears and pay attention to conversations going on around me. Sometimes you hear the most interesting and entertaining stuff.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your thoughts on the Wal-Mart are shared by a lot of people, I'm sure. For me, I started thing similarly when the movie industry started bringing out movies based on old, old 1980s and 1990s cartoons. Smurfs is the most recent. I predict next will be Jem and the Holograms, He-Man, She-Ra and Mask. Lol.
Alexis, thanks for your comments. :) I agree about the old 80's cartoons. It's funny, but my girls love watching stuff like Jem and the Holigrams and My Little Pony on the Hub. lol Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteShannon