Homeless

I was stopping by the pharmacy today to pick up prescriptions for myself and my daughter. My daughter needed birth control pills, and I needed some things for myself. It was busy and they said it would be about 20 minutes or so, I said I would wait. While sitting close by I was within hearing of the till and noticed people picking up their orders. Others were waiting too. Without thinking, I sat and listened as a guy in his 30’s was given a price and said he could not afford it at all. He had a couple of items, chose one and left. A few minutes later a young mother came in with a toddler in her arms and asked about her prescription at the till. I noticed again that this woman was bartering over which medication she could afford for the child, she couldn’t get it all, chose one and left. There was a fellow waiting with me, I didn’t know him an he looked a bit shabby an not feeling well. We were in a pharmacy after all. He was saying how he was worried about rent increases, how he could not afford to pay rent, eat and get his medication, he said he was schizophrenic.

I sat aghast. Guilt and anger and recognition flooded through me as I recalled my own story. The day before I had been in a conversation concerning my own finances. With two teens and me a single dad on EI at the time I was trying to stay a step ahead. During my conversation I recalled how upon given the choice I had said I would give up, like most parents will, food, medications, any necessity of life for my children. With the rapid rise in costs of everything these days I’m living paycheck to paycheck with fear the bank will jump on me as soon as I miss a payment or the government will tax me to poverty or the corporate utility companies and insurance will overcharge me till it costs more to run the house than the house is worth. And of course, the phone companies will all have my children addicted to talking about all this, What they see going on with their dad acting kinda weird.( My little rant ) 

I just watched a show on TV exposing the years of over medicating of children in schools for profit. Plus the news about the obesity problems in our society as well as the chemical imbalances in people that seem to be arising in our society. So now I see the rising cost of living leaving a lot of people having to make the choices to survive by providing for their families by doing without certain necessities. For those that do without medications, like the schizophrenics, and other seriously ill people, I feel that’s these people like a lot of others will become desperate and confused. Confusion breeds anger as well as other ill emotions. ALL FOR THE MIGHTY DOLLAR.

I paid for my daughters birth control pills as I realized when my order was ready that I didn’t have enough for all my prescriptions either. I try to teach her abstinence is best yet in this day and age with peer pressures, sex media and modern music calling every girl or woman a bitch or ho, I figured I would at least cover all the bases.

As I leave the pharmacy, I think to myself to pay attention to those not getting their medications, I’m feeling slightly confused myself, about society.