First they came for the welfare.

But I said nothing, for I had no need of welfare, and besides they called it "reform."

Then they came for the body armor, but still I said nothing, for I had no need of body armor, being safe at home, not at war in Iraq.

And then they came for the nurse's stations...

One morning last week en route to my job, I fell down on the ice while getting off a commuter bus. I landed on my hands and left knee, which was scraped but not badly enough to stop me from continuing on in to work.

To avoid infection, I decided to visit the company nurse for some casual first aid. Sounds like a plan...except that there WAS no company nurse.

So I went to the front desk and got a bandage and a bottle of spray-on disenfectant from the receptionist. Then I went to the washroom, washed, rinsed and dressed the wound, returned the supplies and went back to work.

Welcome to the U$ of A in the new millenium. How do you like your dystopia?

•  You were lucky

  they had disinfectant and bandages...and a receptionist to hand them out!

  Most outfits these days have nothing. Since you didn't get hurt on the job it would have been a $75 hit on the head to visit an emergency room had the wound been serious enough.

  Most times you have to hunt around amongst your coworkers to see if they happen to have a spare asprin or a bandaid in their desk/toolbox.

  Yeah, I remember the days when most large plants had a nurse on their staff...not anymore, at least not since they pushed the financial burden of your welfare onto your own back.

  by Gegner on Sun Dec 11, 2005 at 04:01:55 PM PDT

  •  I found out they got rid of their nurse's station

    5-6 years ago.

    And yes, I DO feel lucky - lucky that at age 62 I can sustain such a fall without anyone real damage.

    My employer is a high-end investment bank making money hand over fist.  I guess this is how they do it.

    by Jimbob on Sun Dec 11, 2005 at 05:37:41 PM PDT