Ocean Beach Hospital

It’s a sad state of affairs when you go to the local clinic and/or hospital and know most of the people you encounter – not just the doctors, nurses, and front desk employees, but also the patients in the waiting rooms or coming through the doors.  And perhaps even the caregivers pushing their wheelchairs.

And I don’t mean ‘know’ as a synonym for ‘recognize’.  I mean know them because you’ve worked with them, had them as students in the classroom, been at parties and picnics with them… You know them as friends, neighbors, and community members from all parts of the Peninsula and, in a few cases, even beyond.

Tom and Sam Andrews’ Store, Oysterville 1915

That was the case yesterday when Nyel and I went down to the Ocean Beach Medical complex in Ilwaco.  We could hardly make our way to the registration point for all the greetings and good-to-see-yous going on!  We caught up on one another’s activities and concerns and learned about local news that we probably missed in the paper.  It was a lot like Old Home Week – a lot like it was a few decades ago at the Oysterville Store or at the Cottage Bakery in mid-winter, or Jack’s Country Store any day but a clam tide.

Undoubtedly, it speaks to the age of most of us – certainly for those, who for reasons of privacy, I’ll refer to as ‘patients’ – that the place de rigueur to meet and greet is a medical facility.  And, probably, were we not so old, we wouldn’t know as many of the worker bees, some of whom, for me, were parents of former students or were even those once-upon-a-time first-graders, themselves.  Me, being the social butterfly (and also NOT a patient yesterday) loved it all.  Even Nyel, remarked that it was great to catch up with several of the folks we hadn’t seen for a long time.

Ocean Park Clinic and Pharmacy

We are hoping, of course, that once the Ocean Park Clinic is up and running, some of our appointments can happen at this end of the Peninsula.  Then the chances for seeing folks we know will probably increase exponentially.  I almost want to say, “I can’t wait.”  But, really, I can.