Gout, the “old man’s disease"

Here's to focusing on the bright side! [READER]( The Daily Reader September 19, 2023 Out of nowhere and when I least expected, I got attacked by gout—which really really hurts. I call gout the “old man’s disease.” Cause everyone I told—and I couldn’t stop talking about it—sort of told me sort of the same thing. Which is: they never had it, but . . . “My uncle did.” Or . . . “My father did.” Or . . . “My grandfather did.” You get the idea. I had a two-fer attack. First in my big toe, then, just as that pain subsided, near my ankle. There’s really nothing you can do about gout once it attacks. Except sit around feeling sorry for yourself. Well, enough of that pity party! Let me concentrate on the bright side of getting gout. Hmm, let’s see . . . Gout proves that Bernie Sanders was right, when it comes to our abysmal state of for-profit health care. For instance . . . One day, the pain was so bad that I limped over to my local urgent care facility. Got there at 1:00 PM, only to have the receptionist tell me I’m too late. “But your website says you’re open until 4:00,” I said. Turns out it should have been called a non-urgent, no-care facility. It’s like one of those restaurants that brags about being open until 10:00 even though the cook leaves at 9:30. The receptionist told me that I could see a nurse. After about an hour, a nurse called me into an examination room. She looked at my swollen foot and said that there was nothing she could do for me, because she was not technically a “caregiver”—even though she was a nurse. But she would tell the “caregiver" about my case, even though the “caregiver” couldn’t see me. Like I said: Bernie was right! The only helpfulness at the urgent care facility came from the security guard, who met me as I was limping out the front door. “What are you taking for the pain?” he asked. “IB…” “Take Aleve. It’s better.” Interesting twist on the whole “Treatment Not Trauma” thing. In this case, the only “treatment” I got for my trauma came from a cop. Another good thing about gout is that it helps me appreciate the Chicago Bears. For the last two Sundays I’ve limped to my easy chair, propped up my foot, and watched some of the worst football I’ve seen in almost 60 years of watching football. The Bears just aren’t bad. They’re creatively bad. They are continually finding new and interesting ways to be bad. As each game proceeded, I entertained myself by texting friends who were also watching the games, about how bad the Bears are. We’re all running low on words to describe what we’re watching. Having run through: terrible, awful, miserable, wretched, vomitrocious, “Can you believe this shit,” and so on. On the bright side, the Bears are so bad they temporarily made me forget about my gout. Hey, urgent care security guard! I found a pain-reliever better than Aleve. 🎙Listen to [The Ben Joravsky Show]( 🎙 [What Ben's Reading] [Raylan]( by the late, great Elmore Leonard. The “Raylan” of the title is the lead character in the TV show, Justified. Tough guys and snappy dialogue. Love you, Elmore Leonard. [Book By Block]( by Charli Renkin: Chicagoans love to read [Ben Joravsky]( on Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa in the days of Mayor Rahm. [Best of the Ben J. Show]( Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates tells [her side of the story]( Criminal defense attorney [April Preyar]( on criminal injustice Block Club Chicago investigative editor Mick Dumke on [selling the city]( [‘Don’t just say it—do it’]( Enrich Chicago releases its first racial equity report; Jackalope hops over to a new home. by [Kerry Reid]( | [R]( → [Iridescent illusions]( Take a 30-second journey into María Burundarena’s multidimensional world. by [Vasia Rigou]( | [R]( → [Review: The Nun II]( Despite its confusing placement in the Conjuring franchise, The Nun II is a surprisingly fun time. by [Joey Shapiro]( | [R]( → [Review: Our Body]( Intimate vignettes and the director’s own diagnosis combine in this striking medical documentary. by [Kat Sachs]( | [R]( → [Behold, a brand-new pumpkin spice-flavored Monday Night Foodball schedule]( It’s decorative gourd season for the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up at Ludlow Liquors. by [Mike Sula]( | [R]( → The best in show. The next issue of our arts and culture newsletter, Second & Fourth, drops next Thursday afternoon! Click below to sign up today. [SECOND & FOURTH NEWSLETTER]( [Issue of Sept. 7 – 20, 2023 Vol. 52, No. 24]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE [PDF]]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616