The Good Old Days

       Ya know, doctors are a lot different than they used to be. I can remember when you'd go to the Doctor's office, which was in his house. He'd invite you into his examining room which was where his desk was and a table with stirrups, all in one room. Maybe a portable privacy screen too. He'd have you sit down and he'd ask you what was wrong. If you told him you were there for your annual checkup, he'd ask you how you feel. If you said good or okay, he'd say okay come back when you don't feel okay.
       Now-a-days if you said you are here for your annual checkup, he'd ask "why weren't you here for a six month checkup?"
       When he said you were fine, you usually were. Now-a-days the Doctor never says you're okay. Instead he orders forty seven tests that suggest there may be nothing obviously wrong with you. But come back in three weeks for further tests.
       And the equipment is different too. The table with the stirrups might still be there, but no desk. Instead there's a counter with a sink in it and a computer on the counter. And his nurse has already taken your temperature with a gauge that just touches your forehead. While she's doing that a cloth strap tightens around your arm and a readout tells her your blood pressure. In the old days, the Doctor would hold the back of his hand on your forehead and mutter something.
       It used to be that the doctor almost always wore a suit and tie. Today he wears a white jacket or scrubs.  You never got to go to the Doctor's office if you were sick. The Doctor came to your house if you were sick. Usually very, very early in the morning or late at night. Now-a-days, you don't go to the Doctor's office if you're sick either. Today, his nurse tells you to go to the emergency room if you're sick.
       Back then there were only a few things you could get sick from. Usually not very serious. Now-a-days you can get sick from nearly everything and often do. It's a good thing for emergency rooms. I guess things are much better now-a-days in medicine. It's a good thing they are, because there's so much more to get sick from.