Doctor's Appointment

When I had my car accident, the insurance folks said I should go see my doctor. Well, I don't have a doctor in the UP. So, I decided maybe I should do something about that, and today, I went to see Dr. Maki.

Dr. Maki is about my age, wears his hair in a very long ponytail, and is a semi-lapsed Episcopalian. He is very interested in progressive Christianity. And thinks its cool that I'm gay. I've died and gone to heaven.

We talked about how we can work in partnership with people in need. We talked about the general good direction of recent elections. We talked about church and politics and local issues. He told me that there is a gay community in Ontonagon, it's just a little hard to find. And then, he went over my health history, did a basic physical exam, and put forth a low-key and non-invasive plan to address a couple of health issues that have been hanging around for a while - nothing serious or scary, but nice to have a plan. And, he immediatelly understood my desire to be as low-key, non-invasive, and unobtrusive as possible, and agreed. He won extra points by not telling me I was too fat (I must lose some weight, but it was nice not to have him say it) or making bad food choices (I know when I'm doing it, and hate naggy docs).

Total time=2 hours. AMAZING. The only bad news is that he's leaving the practice. But, he's hoping to stay in the Western Region of the UP. How cool is that? I like this guy. I like this place. This falls into the "only in the UP" category.