Doctorization

Oh my God…is it true?

I can…write about whatever I want? Really?

Oh man, while I am immensely proud and humbled by the amazing response generated from The Great Woodstock Story (digg it!), I also like to, you know, just ramble and jab on my own subjects. Without a doubt, I was prepared to write The Woodstock tale to completion, with few omissions and as truthful as possible. Each person has a few ‘awesome and unbelievable’ stories and that was one of mine.

But did it have to span two months and three weeks? Well, there was that week’s worth of sickness in the middle…

But nevertheless, today I want to talk about doctors. I love doctors, they fix people. Thankfully, I found a good one who fixed me from the agony of a hiatal hernia. But why is there a need for a “Family” doctor? Am I the only guy who sees doctors as very skilled, professional (and much higher-paid)…mechanics?

I think of doctors as “Body Mechanics.” Your body breaks, they fix it. Your body has a malfunction, a clink, a ticking noise when you walk…they study the books which give the answers.

Without a doubt (and having grown up with my father working on cars every day of his life…to this day), it takes a lot of skill to be a mechanic. To know the ins and outs of auto repair, to make an engine run when it seemingly will not run at all.

But just like those fine folks, doctors study hearts and brains like mechanics study transmissions and alternators. They are simply studying logic, circuits, connections, and assumptions which can or can not prove to be correct.

I’m not really into the whole ‘personal healthcare’ thing. I’m a guy who likes to live his life without the idea that if I move I’ll have to “say goodbye” to my doctor.

Is this really what doctors are in the business for? Patient relationships? I’d really love to know. Because some of the doctors I’ve had the fortune/misfortune to meet have been complete pricks. Who knows why they do what they do. It’s about helping people, right? And some are better than others.

Some of the mechanics I know are complete pricks. Who knows why they do what they do. I’m guessing it’s for the money. But every once in awhile, you’ll find a greasemonkey who just loves tinkering and would do it on his spare time as well as spending 8–10 hours a day rebuilding your transmission.

This bleeds over into the idea of “doing what you love” versus “doing what you love…on the side, while working a steady trade to fuel your loves.”

I won’t even try to recap or rephrase what I thought was a brilliant essay by Paul Graham. Just go read it when you have some time. You won’t be disappointed.

To wrap up, I highly respect both doctors and mechanics. But in my mind, they are one and the same: A skilled pro who fixes problems in their chosen medium. Some are just more complicated (and at the same time, more financially rewarding), than others.

And with that, I’m very happy to say that this post just flowed from my brain and was not structured or planned and I gave no mind to a starting/stopping point. I like that.

But I also like writing stories. And of course, knowing that there’s wonderful folks out there reading them. Thanks for doing so, and have a great weekend!

We’ll talk more Monday.

 Opposite the trains moving in
Rivers run interstate, Michigan!