Practice Makes…?

Drug treatment can be an interesting place to meet people. Perhaps treatment isn’t quite as interesting as the psyche ward, but it’s still up towards the top of the list. You can meet some rather different people there.

After I got done with my 13 months IN treatment, I went to work for the place. For some reason, today I remembered a dude who I can’t honestly say I’ve ever really remembered since I left.

I won’t say his name, but he was an older guy who was in his late 50’s to early 60’s. Before he entered treatment, he was a doctor. He had been married and had at least one grown daughter, but had been divorced years before. He was also a drunk.

His drinking did him in. It got to the point that he couldn’t stay sober at all. He was drunk at home. He was drunk at work. He was drunk one day when the state came to check on him, and he lost his license.

When he was in treatment, he would occasionally talk about all that his alcohol addiction had done to him and what it had cost him. I always thought it sounded a little strange when he’d say, “I lost my practice,” referring to his medical practice. Yet until today, I had never really pondered that or thought about how strange that phrase is.

Why do they call what doctors do “practicing medicine?”

Aren’t doctors supposed to be professionals? Yet all they do is “practice” medicine? Are they just warming up for some big game? Are they waiting for just the right moment to do the real thing? Do doctors REALLY go through all those years of college and training just so they can take their best guesses at what might be wrong with you and how they might be able to fix it?

Ever since I was a little baby and I used to get the cold, glass rectal thermometer, I’ve never been fond of doctors (when I was two weeks old I pissed on the doctor’s foot when he stuck that cold mercury and glass rod up my ass). After pondering this today though, I think I’m even less fond of them.

In other news, yes, I’m still here.

I’ve been gone a lot more for work lately, which is fine because although the hours are longer when I drive out of state, the pay is better.

I’m also house-hunting and may have found one. I talked to the banker yesterday who said I shouldn’t have a problem getting financing for it.

It’s a nice house and is brand new (they aren’t quite done building it yet). My dad knows the builder, which is how I found out about it. He said he REALLY wants to sell it by the end of the year, so hopefully I’ll be out of my parent’s basement soon.

So yeah, just figured I’d let everyone know I’m still alive. Won’t be back here for a little while though cause I’ve gotta go to South Dakota again tomorrow and then this weekend I’m flying to Illinois to see Allie and Jen and Tina and Lisa. So that’ll pretty much kick ass.

Take care everyone, catch you when I can.