A Few Good People
Sam Aurelius Milam III
On
September 7, I stepped on a nail and jabbed a hole in my left foot.
It wasn't a serious wound but it was a puncture wound, it had been made
by a nail that had been laying on the ground, and it had been about seven
years since my most recent tetanus shot. I decided to see if I could
get a tetanus shot without showing government ID.
I
called the clinics in town and found two that would admit to giving tetanus
shots. At one, the woman told me that they wouldn't give me the shot
unless I have a Social Security number. At the other, the lady didn't
give me a straight answer about an ID requirement. Instead, she asked
me if I was a "patient" I told her that I wasn't. She said that before
I could get anything from the clinic, I'd have to go through their acceptance
procedure. She said that it included various things, such as a note
from a doctor. I didn't pursue it because I assumed that somewhere
in the procedure I'd run afoul of an ID requirement. However, both
women suggested that I go to the county health department. I was
skeptical. If I couldn't get a tetanus shot from the private sector,
then why would I expect a county agency to give me one?
I
called the county health department and was surprised to learn that they
don't have an ID requirement. Still skeptical, I rode Crazy Horse
across town to see what would happen. I found the department in a
small building in a rural setting just beyond the outskirts of town.
In the lobby, I discovered the two receptionists to be very courteous.
The paperwork was minimal and reasonable. It took me only about two
minutes to complete it. They didn't require any ID at all.
They didn't object when I wrote "none" for Social Security number.
I paid for the shot in cash. One of the receptionists gave me a receipt
while the other one went looking for a plastic bag for me to use to carry
the handouts that they'd given me. They invited me to sit in the
lobby and wait. The lobby was large, clean, and quiet. There
wasn't some obnoxious TV blaring, just a peaceful lobby. It wasn't
crowded full of sick, sneezing, contagious invalids. Except for me,
it was empty. I barely had time to enjoy it. Within two minutes,
a lovely blonde nurse came out and invited me to the treatment room where
she administered my shot. The whole procedure took about fifteen
minutes, from the time that I locked Crazy Horse to the flag pole out front
until the time that I rode away. I didn't even have to wait in a
line.
It's
ironic that the clinics would rather have me risk a serious disease than
treat me without ID, while the county agency doesn't require ID at all.
The priorities at the clinics clearly don't include my health. Libertarians
who glorify the so-called private sector should take notice. There's
another lesson as well. The lesson is that, in spite of my criticism
of government, there are still small bits and pieces of it wherein the
individuals involved are courteous, competent, and behaving in the best
interests of the people that they serve. The behavior of the county
health department was exemplary, at least in this one instance. It
should be held up as an example for all government, everywhere.
It's
good to know that such things are still possible in this country in spite
of all of the efforts of the globalists and the repressionists to make
it otherwise. In a few places, a few good government employees are
still doing their jobs. If you're lucky, then you can still find
them when you need them. Maybe that sort of thing was more common
in the past. I don't know. Fortunately, I found just such a
bit of that hypothetical past exactly when I needed it, right here in Navaho
County, Arizona.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
Please use the enclosed envelope to send a contribution.
I prefer cash. For checks or money orders, please inquire.
For PayPal payments, use frontiersman@tomc.org.uk.
October 2005 |
Frontiersman, 1510 North
22nd Drive, Show Low, Arizona 85901
frontiersman@tomc.org.uk
Also see Pharos at http://tomc.org.uk/Sam_Aurelius_Milam_III/Pharos_Relay/Pharos_Relay.html |
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