Friday, January 05, 2007

Things...

...that made me say hmm (and okay, a few curse words):
1) During a discussion at home in which I teased bf Louisiana about her little pudge and the fact that she used to say, "After my first child turns four or five, I'm not having anymore,"--her child will be almost seven when the baby comes. She laughed then told me, "We weren't planning this. If they had let me get my tubal ligation two years ago-" Of course, I was like, "Let?" And she proceeded to tell me how she couldn't have the procedure unless her husband agreed, too. He had to sign some papers, too. She never approached him with it because, she says, she simply refused to ask anyone else's "permission" to have the procedure. "I kept saying, but it's my body," she said.

2) Late Sunday morning phone call from frantic cousin, "elle, I thought you said the morning after pill was available over the counter now!" Sleepy me, "It is!" Cousin: "I called Wal-Mart (in a neighboring city of Ruston, LA) and they said they have it, but I need a prescription." Slightly irate me, "I'll call them."

Professional sounding me, "Yes, I had a friend call earlier about Plan B and she was told she needed a prescription." Snotty pharm tech, "Yes, she does." Snotty me, "Even though the FDA has approved it for OTC sales?" Pretending-to-be-knowledgeable pharm tech, "There are two kinds. There's different packaging and we sell the one with the packaging that requires a prescription." WTF me, "Is that a nation-wide Wal-Mart policy or just your location?" Proud pharm tech, "I'm not sure, but I know it's what we do." Professional me again, "Then I need a number for your pharmacy or corporate headquarters." Not-so-confident tech, "Uh, I don't know it." Then:
"You don't know how I could talk to someone about the pharmacy's policies?"
"No, ma'am."
"So, there's no number posted anywhere for customers who want to make a complaint?"
"I don't know it."
"I'll wait for you to find it. Or I can keep calling back to see if you've found it."
"Hold on, ma'am." He comes back with 1-800-WALMART. I call and find they don't open til noon on Sundays. I call back and ask for the pharmacist, who was unavailable for some time until they gave up. I get the same convoluted explanation.
Does anyone know about this?

... that make me happy.
1) Apparently, there was a conspiracy in 1933 in the LA parish I'm studying in which two white men (from elsewhere) enlisted black residents to arm themselves, march on the parish seat, demand more food and assistance "from whites" (that's what the first article says), and demand that some laws change--particularly (according to the article and this shows just how RADICAL the plot was) the law forbidding interracial marriage. Forget the desire to ameliorate the horrible conditions of the Depression for poor blacks in rural LA--we know what they **really** wanted.
From a selfish standpoint, this is going to be important to my chapters one and two. From a more human standpoint, I'm scared of what I'm going to find. The march didn't occur, but I know that some black people did receive shotguns. I know that at least one black man was killed. I also know that I lived in that parish and never heard one word about this. What was done? What happened to the list of black recruits who paid the white "plotters"?

2) I finally joined AHA in November (yes, it took that long). I never thought about it much before and when I did, I was like who has an extra $40. But I bit the bullet and joined. So yesterday, I got my first issue of the American Historical Review. I expressed to my sister that I feel so historian-y now that I'm getting my very own journal (okay, while I love my Labor journals from LAWCHA, it ain't the same!) She said, "You know what will make you feel even more historian-y?" "What?" I asked, thinking about elle in a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches, a nice armchair, and an unused pipe. "Graduating," she said.

Have I mentioned that Sis has been in a little bit of a mood since she had to return to the hallowed halls of elementary academia?

11 comments:

Courtney said...

Yeah, I just joined AHA too (get in while I could still get the student rate). Nice.

As for the first few items, ACK!!!! My head is exploding.

RageyOne said...

On item #1 - we still live in a patriarchial (sp?) society, unfortunately. I remember when a friend of mine had her first child and she inquired about a tubal ligation. The doctors told her no because of her age. They said she may decide to have a child later on. I'm thinking, if a person wants to have a tubal ligation at 23 without ever having a child, let them do it. It is their choice! Sheesh.

Item #2 - jeesh. Don't you just hate it when places try and police you because they don't agree. sigh. I wish I knew more. I'll be on the lookout.

Happy item #1 - seems like I've heard of that story before.

Happy item #2 - LOL at your sister's comment. too funny! :)

Courtney said...

Scary enough, law used to be that you had to have 4 kids before they would "allow" sterilization. Like you fulfill your quota, and then you can retire.

elle said...

yeah ragey that no to tubal ligation seems common. in a similar manner, i had pre-cancerous cells on a pap smear a couple of times and i asked my doctor about options, including a hysterectomy. he told me i was much too young to be thinking about that. i thought it more important to be here for the one child i do have than to worry about ones i don't.

four? wow. i wonder why that number?

Zan said...

THe tubal thing bites, but I've heard that all before. Unfortunately. I don't want children. I have a disease that makes pregnancy potentially lifethreatening for me. I have a 25 percent increased risk of miscarriage in the last trimester. So, why can't I just get my tubes tied and be done with it? Because I'm young, fertile and may change my mind. To which I say, if I decide at some point to have children, there are tons of children in foster care that need families. I don't need a child of my blood, ya know. But no. Arg.

Okay, about the OTC Plan B -- the tech was sorta right. There are/were two packages. One is/was script only. However, when the new year came, all store were supposed to have the OTC brand because after Jan 1 a script was not required. You just have to be over 17. Or ya know, male. Because while women have to be over 17 to buy it, there is no age restrictions on men buying it. Grr.

However! I have a way around that little stupid WalMart idiot. (And you can look forward to lots of stories l ike that coming out, I'm sure.) drugstore.com. They do overnight shipping, the price is about what you'd pay in the store and look! No idiot pharmacest to say you can't have it.

Or, she can check with the CVS or Walgreens. CVS has pledged to make sure there is a pharmacist on duty at all times who will fill the order. Because even though it's now OTC, a pharm can STILL refuse to sell it to you. GAH!!

Courtney said...

Zan, wait, there is no age limit for a man to buy it????? That's got to be clearly and utterly unconstitutional.

Zan said...

Nope. No age limit at all for a man to buy it. You could send your 12 year old son in to buy it, if you wanted. Now, in practice, pharms may in fact ask men for id. But it's nowhere in the law. Which is so very funny, really, because the big 'reason' the anti's gave for keeping it behind the counter was that older men who abuse young girls could force them to take it to cover up evidence of abuse. But...if the guy can just walk in and buy it, how exactly does that keep him from giving it to the girl? Uh. It doesn't. It was just a whole buncha shit to keep women from controlling their fertility. If it was really a reason, they'd have put in an age limit for men or something. But no...it's completely stupid. And anyway, you can get it online and no one knows how old you are :)

Courtney said...

Unbe-fucking-lievable.

elle said...

ok, i didn't know that either. grr.

but i'm glad y'al are having a conversation in/at my humble abode :-)

elle said...

and zan, thanks for drugstore.com

Zan said...

I tell everyone about drugstore.com. They were first in line to announce they'd be selling it when all that hubbub started about not filling scripts. They came out and said they'd fill ALL scripts, period. Then, when it went OTC, they announced they'd be offering it as soon as the law was passed. They've been totally on the ball and deserve some props.

Revelations and ruminations from one southern sistorian...