I’m not doing well with this blogging thing; not consistent. My excuse is my newness to this whole experience. I’m still trying to finish up the last edits on the books. I find it a delicate balance between a good story and trying to keep things real. Stories often deviate from reality but need to stay close enough to be convincing. You might say it’s like a con artist. Mixing enough truth with fiction to blur the boundary between the two. I have friends who tell me they don’t agree with my stories approach to the trans female – cis male relationships. That they prefer the up front approach for trans persons. I agree with them, actually, but the Gala girls are a unique group, and not really part of the normal transgender community. I justify my approach in that I’ve always felt that trans females are just another variation of women. They’re real and don’t need to justify themselves to the world. As Helen said to Remasce, “Of course your real, my dear, but I sometimes wonder about the rest of the world.” Just as cisgender woman have a multitude of variations and problems, the trans woman’s problems are just another one of the things that are out there for woman. Of course, I am looking at this from a fully transitioned perspective. I understand that a woman lacking a SRS needs a different approach to relationships.
Between a new porch, new pictures for the walls, and new quilts, things are busy around the house. Everyone here always has a new project. I must admit it would be wonderful if I could retire from medicine and write. However, who knows how this great experiment will go. I find that medicine is no longer as fulfilling as I once found it. The attitude of everyone has changed, from greatful to demanding. My generation wanted to be self-employed as physicians but the new doctors simple desire a well paying job. They wish to be off at five and play all weekend. I can’t blame them for wanting to avoid the hassles of of owning a business. I find we are becoming less and less independent as individuals and a nation, relying more on the government and our corporate employers and less on ourselves. Personally, I do not feel this is good. Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are indicative of this. They are totally non-personal, just fill in the blank and check the box, with to many unnecessary boxes to check off; cut, paste, and macros. But an EMR can’t give you a real feel for a patient, like a good hand written chart note can.
Being an employed physician takes away many options. In private practice I can take tamales in trade for care (and I did), but when employed our employer does not want tamales, they want money. So people with no insurance, who were once cared for by doctors through a barter system, now have to pay cash, that they can’t afford, or get insurance throught the government, that we all ultimately pay for with our taxes. We destroyed a working system that cared for the uninsured without it costing the taxpayer anything, and replaced it with a system that cost lots of taxpayer money. It makes no sense to me.
I’ve learned to go with the flow. See you next time.
Rene C. Delacroix - Author 