Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Pills, Safety and ~Deb

As I was looking at a medicine bottle this morning, something occurred to me: you know, medicine bottles are easier to open now then when I was a child. I can remember the "child proof" jokes about how only a child could open a bottle of pills.

I don't have many pills – I don't like them. But I was finishing up a bottle of Marinol I got off the street. Actually, I was finishing an antibiotic, and it was so easy to open. Did not break a nail on the bottle. Did not throw it on the counter in disgust. Did not ask someone else, say a child, to open the bottle.

I am not sure if children were getting smarter so the pharmaceutical companies gave up. Or senior citizens were suing the drug companies because they could not get their arthritis medicine. Personally I think the US Government did a bunch of studies to show that it made little difference in terms of patient safety. You either harm children or harm senior citizens, and let's face it, kids don't vote!

When I was a little girl, like most kids, I ran around during the evening, thinking nothing of my safety. We never worried about child predators, about booster seats, about riding in the back of a neighbor's old pick-em-up truck, wind in my hair. We seemed safe; we were safe. Personally, I think we were no safer back then; perhaps we were even less-safe. But because of the news (hundreds of outlets verses four when I was a child), other media, etc., we know about the sexual predators. We know about children dying after falling out of pick-em-up trucks. We know of people dying of exotic diseases one gets from, well, you get the idea.

Personally, I think those who will make things of themselves, may find a niche in separating the crap information from useful information. Were I able to do it, perhaps I would not be blogging at work right now.

Oh, and the ~Deb reference is just to draw more readers in. Yeah, a bit gimmicky. Sort of like when the news shows the weather at the end of the newscast every single day. Darn those news guys!

15 comments:

Tony said...

Just like a newscaster, put ~Deb in the title and then hold out to the end.

Personally, I think we were safer back then (young catholic boys not included.) I think that with the advent of the Internet and the ability for pedophiles (and other ill individuals) to feed their habit it has emboldened them to take actions they normally wouldn't take.

Edtime Stories said...

I think you are right. We live in a society of fear. We want safety over all else. Even when the safety is a myth. School violence was down when Columbine happened but people lost their minds. We put up with insane security checks that can't stop a person determined to kill at the cost of his or her life. We keep our children from strangers while they are more likely to be killed, molested or beaten by a family member or close friend.

Are we safer? I don't know, but I think we fear more.

Blog hog said...

Leesa,
You know what I dont like are those vacuumed air tight bags, like lettuce in a bag, and I take my 2 hands and try to pull it open. Impossible to do and Im a strong muscular man. Then I take a pin and prick it, and i can open it from there.
Brains over brawn I guess but I like things I can rip right open with my bare hands.

Blog hog said...

also, I dont have any gay problems so Im not important to Deb, mention her all you want, wont work. so Im going to more straight blogs, hehe

Stacy The Peanut Queen said...

Your post brings back some memories...I remember my Dad driving his old Plymouth and I'd stand on the seat right beside him and the only seatbelt we had when he hit the brakes was him sticking his arm straight out to his side and across my stomach, pushing me back against the seat so I wouldn't fly into the dashboard.

Ah, the good ol' days! ;)

J R Estelle said...

I totally believe I was safer when I was a kid, but I grew up in a small town. We didn't wear seatbelts, didn't know what a bicycle helmet was, stayed out well after the street lights came on, etc etc.

You couldn't pay me to be a kid now, no way, no how, nuh uh.

Deb said...

(12 people within the last hour) Stats are getting higher babe!

Blog hog said...

Leesa,
I fell off my chair and hurt myself while reading your blog:)

The Great and Might Os said...

That's why the sports come last.

For the record, I still can't open pill. But I am not talking about the bottles, I am talking about those metalic sleeves, with the pills in the little bubble. And you have to peel back a corner on each pill and then scissors won't work, and you can't punch them out and they won't poke through......ahaahahaaaaaaaaa, I need a chill pill, but I can't open them!

Rick said...

If you were a real newscaster, you would've told us more about ~Deb in the title than you did in the last paragraph. ;-)

Leigh said...

I do think in many ways we were safer then in some cases anyway and then in other cases we just didn't know any better.

Hope you are having a good week.

Blog hog said...

Could you imagine enforcing a seat belt- horse belt law on Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Matt Dillion, or John Wayne while they are riding their horses?
They would simply spit in your face, or maybe even shoot you between your eyes.
Of course, they all died young, haha

Unknown said...

lol, i've missed your blog. :) love the post, wonderful as always.

Leesa said...

tony: sorry for the ~Deb reference.

ed: I fear a lot, too.

gw: I use knives to open those bags. Big knives!

stacy: Good ol' days indead.

oswald: you know, I forgot about those pill packs.

rick: newscasters giving news? Not lately.

leigh: thanks!

gw: guess what, there are violent people now.

jd: where have you been?

QUASAR9 said...

Oh, and the ~Deb reference is just to draw more readers in. Yeah, a bit gimmicky. Sort of like when the news shows the weather at the end of the newscast every single day. Darn those news guys

So it works. lol!