Okay, let’s go back a few years — something we all like to do now and then.
I have been reading about the changes that you will see in going to a drugstore in the near future. You have perhaps noticed that CVS is about to merge with Aetna insurance so that now you will be able to go to a drugstore be evaluated for whatever ails you, get your prescription right then and there, and have it covered by whatever insurance they may be offering at the time.
Of course, on the way out you can stock up on fruit, vegetables, beer, and just about anything else your home may require.
Okay, now let’s step back to when I and perhaps some of you were children. My mom would place me in my wicker stroller and walk — I said walk — to the area near where we lived to do her shopping. This involves going to the meat market, the poultry store, the eggs store, bakery, dry cleaner, fruit stand and you name it. I would be crowded into my little wicker stroller by all the bundles but somehow we made it home and had plenty to eat and drink, etc.
As for medical care, again she would load me into the stroller, walk with me to the doctor’s home and wait in his dining room/ office/ examining room for the doctor’s attention. He would write out a prescription and we would march down to the nearest drugstore which was usually on the corner of every street, walk by the soda fountain to the back of the store where the pharmacist sold prescriptions and condoms.
It was a simple deal and the only reason to go to a drugstore, unless you go back to pre-prohibition days when those lunch counters actually were bars in disguise.
If you happened to be sick enough to warrant a doctor’s visit you would call him on the phone and have him come to your house for treatment. This of course was expensive, $4 as I recall, and twice as much as an office visit. He would come to the door with his little black bag which contained a stethoscope, a thermometer, a tongue depressor or popsicle stick, and of course the ever-present hammer with which to whack you on your knee to be sure that you are still alive. Don’t ask me about this one but I believe it is still done today.
Of course we thought it was pretty marvelous when A&P opened large supermarkets where you could actually buy a variety of things without having to visit a bunch of independent stores.
Of course in the old days we had the famous horse drawn milk delivery truck, the egg man, and the ever-present ice man, to deliver ice to your ice box to keep the fresh food fresh! The only real drawback to all of this was that the horse-drawn vehicles had to leave the remnants of their fuel in the middle of the road. You had to be very careful where you walked on the street.
Now we have taken several steps forward. I believe that Amazon not only will deliver right to your house but somehow open your door, leave the goods inside waiting for you to come home.
I honestly do not know how this is going to work and I am sure that there are thieves and scammers working on ways to take advantage of this. It’s just a matter of time.
I have become one of the many who no longer goes to stores to buy things. It would be nice if they had the things I needed, or at least someone to tell me where they are in the store. Fuggetaboutit.
I recently went to a major chain of home repair stores with hopes of buying a simple thing like a bird house stand. After visiting several different stores I finally went home turned on my ever faithful computer, placed my order online and had it within two days. If this trend continues we will all end up being a bunch of fat little people with tiny legs sitting at home doing all of our shopping online. Whew!
Frankly, I miss Dr. Mann and his dining room office as well as the drug stores that sold drugs and not fruit and vegetables, pop tarts, and everything else non-drug related. Now I am told we will no longer drive our own automobiles or go for a walk. All of these various scooter devices will eliminate that and of course the cars will be driving themselves.
