Home
February 4, 1997
I really had to force myself to get out of bed, go to therapy, do errands, and whatever today. I feel a little like a wet dishrag. I'm still so out of it that I can't remember whether it was snowing this morning or yesterday morning.
Anyway, after a short nap after therapy, I called the local CVS and ordered a refill of a prescription. They are always reminding you to call first so you don't have to wait. They hate it when you show up with the empty bottle and stand in line and wait for it. They hate that. So I called. I gave the pharmacist the prescription number and my name. Fine. I went out to lunch for an hour and did some other errands. Then on to CVS to pick up the refill.
|
Pharmacist 1: |
"Are you picking up or dropping off?" |
|
|
|
Me: |
"Picking up a refill" |
|
|
|
Pharmacist 1: |
"Name?" |
|
|
|
Me: |
"Egan" |
|
|
|
|
Rustle...rustle... rustle as pharmacist 1 looks through the bins |
... there's nothing in the bin labeled "E". |
The line is building up behind me. |
|
Pharmacist 2: |
"Name?" |
|
|
|
Me: |
"Egan" |
|
|
|
Pharmacist 1: |
"Let me see..." |
|
|
|
Pharmacist 2 to Pharmacist 1: |
"What was her name?" |
|
|
|
Pharmacist 1 (really loud): |
"Egan" |
|
|
|
Lady with cane and shopping cart: |
"Are you in line?" |
|
|
|
Me: |
"I don't know. They can't find my refill." |
|
|
|
Pharmacist 1: |
"Can you wait a minute?" |
|
|
(Note this dialogue has already taken 10 minutes and the line is
now huge)
|
Pharmacist 2: |
"Is that Janet Egan?" |
|
|
|
Me: |
"Yes, I called a while ago for a refill" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Much tapping of keyboards...
|
Pharmacist 2 (really loud): |
"What did you want?" |
|
|
|
|
The crowd has built up. |
I'm shorter than everyone except a sick toddler with a runny nose and the Lady with Shopping Cart and Cane. |
Elders are squeezing between me and the counter pushing me further and further away... |
|
|
I am forced to shout to be heard over the cash registers
and hordes of elders. |
|
|
|
Me (too loud for my own comfort): |
"Zoloft" |
|
|
|
Pharmacist 2 (even louder to an even larger crowd of elders): |
"Was that Zoloft? for Janet Egan?" |
|
|
|
Pharmacist 1 to pharmacist 2: |
"Yes" |
to me: |
"Can you wait a minute?" |
|
Me: |
silent |
- trying to look invisible - |
|
I walk away from the counter and start browsing the cold remedies
and vitamins and wrist braces and foot powders, still trying to look
invisible.
10 minutes later...
|
Pharmacist 3: |
"Prescription for Janet Egan" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I go back to the counter. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pharmacist 2: |
"Here it is prescription for Janet Egan, get in line". |
|
|
|
Me: |
stand there in silence trying to disappear |
and not step on Lady with Shopping Cart and Cane who looks familiar |
- is this only because I've been in line with her for so long? |
|
Cashier (really really loud): |
"Prescription for Janet Egan" |
|
|
|
Me: |
"I'm right here." |
|
|
|
Lady with Shopping Cart and Cane: |
"Janet Egan. I thought it was you but then they said a different name..." |
|
|
|
Me (bewildered): |
"Do I know you?" |
|
|
|
Lady with Shopping Cart and Cane: |
"Yes, I'm Michael's Mother." |
|
|
|
Me (really really embarrassed) : |
"Oh, of course I know you! I thought you looked familiar..." |
|
|
|
Cashier: |
"Oh, Ms. Egan this comes to $124 you know." |
|
|
|
Me handing her credit card: |
"OK." |
|
|
|
Cashier: |
"You don't seem surprised." |
|
|
|
Me: |
"No. That's how much it always costs. I work for myself, no cool prescription drug plan." |
|
|
|
Cashier: |
"I've always wanted to do that. What kind of work do you do?" |
|
|
Line of elders is now stretching halfway down the main aisle of the store...a woman cuts in front of me while I'm trying to sign the credit card slip... she hands the pharmacist 3 scrips and goes into a long explanation of her new group number... the line of elders is now stretching to about downtown Lawrence...maybe the New Hampshire state line... maybe the Canadian border...
|
Me: |
"Writing" |
|
|
|
Cashier: |
"Me too! I'm writing a romance novel." |
|
|
|
Me: |
"Umm, not really my genre... I do technical stuff... I gotta go." |
|
|
|
Michael's Mother (formerly Lady with Shopping Cart and Cane): |
"Bye, Janet, nice to see you." |
|
|
|
Me (still totally embarrassed): |
"Bye. You know how it is sometimes you just don't recognize people..." |
|
|
|
Michael's Mother: |
"That happens sometimes." |
|
|
I slink out of the store knowing that now not only does entire elderly population of both North Andover and Lawrence know I'm taking Zoloft and it costs $124, but now my entire family will know.... Michael's mother tells Michael & Donald, Donald tells Thomas, Thomas tells my mother... my mother worries...
Maybe she'll forget what I was buying. yeah, that's it...