I like pain; it assures me I'm still alive. After leaving Nowra Private Hospital and anticipating more pain to come, while sitting in the backseat of the car with my leg bandaged and elevated, I sent Padma into Atli's Country Pharmacy for a packet of paracetamols.
She came back with one hundred tablets in a bottle labelled, "Do not cut or chew tablets". With my swallowing capabilities severely compromised since my previous encounter with a head and neck surgeon, I cracked the seal to check the size of those tablets. They were too long and too big!
Not expecting the chemist to take back a bottle with its seal broken, I sent Padma back with another tenner and instructions to buy paracetamols of a smaller size or at least some that could be cut up into smaller pieces.
Moments later she came back with another brand of paracetamols and the tenner still intact. "They'll take back the other one, even with a broken seal", she said, and took it back to the pharmacy. Try that at a pharmacy in Batemans Bay where the colour of your money is all that matters!
Of course, Padma bought a few more things to compensate them and thank them. Atli's Country Pharmacy, with the emphasis on Country.
