All Things Must Pass

To everything there is a season. Between the Bible and The Birds, it is a lesson I have learned. This will be the last you will hear from me for the foreseeable future. As much as I have enjoyed doing this column for more than a decade in one form or another, it is time to fade off into journalistic obscurity.

I have my reasons. I have more irons in the fire than I have ever had, and I don’t want to get burned. Plus, there’s something to be said for reorganizing your priorities and simplifying your life. Sometimes we grow out of things that once were a great fit and find we need to change, challenge, and inspire ourselves in other ways.

Then, there is the general atmosphere of the country these days. Real friendships (not the social media type) are dissolving over the current political climate. As much as I would like to give a running commentary on healthcare and the new political climate, I am frankly afraid to do so.

All you need to do is incense the wrong person, and you and those you love are in danger. When the better part of your hometown knows exactly where you live, that is a dangerous proposition. I would just as soon keep my mouth shut and watch the tennis volley that has become my Facebook feed while I stand there as the net.

For as much as people have enjoyed my column over the years, I have yet to retire from high-volume community pharmacy on it. I will forever be grateful for the platform, but, as they say in my profession, the benefit is no longer worth the risk. I also feel like I have nothing left to write that extols the virtues of pharmacy. Frankly, I think medicine as a whole is doing a lot of things wrong. Between a disease treatment protocol instead of a prevention of disease modality, and the sometimes reckless prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II opioids and amphetamines, I sometimes find it hard to believe that we are helping anybody.

I would like to thank The Villager and Pharmacy Times; you took a chance on me several years ago and have given me a great platform to share my perspective as community pharmacist. I have written on some very controversial topics and have been published with mild editing to say the least. Finally, to my readers; your encouragement kept me going. I am sorry to leave, but all things must pass.

Peace.