B.B.U.S.A. (Buying Back the United States of America) Read Online Free PDF Page A

clinic, he had to fill out seemingly-unnecessary paperwork to satisfy the receptionist, even though he told her he would settle the bill in cash. Eventually, he was wheeled off to be treated.
    He knew what to expect. He had stepped on a similar catfish as a teenager. Of course, that time it had been an accident, and a very painful learning experience, one he had never dreamed of duplicating. Fate is a strange thing. Perhaps one of his most excruciating boyhood accidents had saved his life this time around.
    Leo felt like an observer, somehow removed from his body as he watched the intern clean the wound with a sponge and a bucket of warm soapy water. He scrubbed bits of dried blood from around the puncture, causing it to start bleeding again. He lay on his side and watched the intern dab Betadine Solution around the wound. Next, the intern with his blue scrubs, purple gloves, and white face mask, selected what seemed like a syringe with the longest needle in the hospital. As expected, the intern injected the wound several times. At least after the second injection, Leo felt a lessening of pain with each subsequent heartbeat.
    He felt like he had been watching a movie. Although present and watching attentively, he felt no more immediate pain. He felt pressure as the intern picked tiny black specks from the wound with a pair of tweezers. An attractive nurse who swabbed up the oozing blood looked at Leo several times with empathy.
    Leo suddenly felt the room spin as the intern took six inch Q-tips swabbed in Iodine and forced them through his foot, from the top through the bottom and vice versa. He repeated the procedure four agonizing times. When the intern forced the Q-tip through his foot for the final time, Leo was forced to look away as he felt quite queasy. He drew on reserves of willpower to keep from bringing up the bitter bile he could taste in the back of his throat.
    The physician finished with five stiches on the bottom, and three neat stiches on the top, and then left the finishing touches to the nurse. She gently dabbed the wound, wiping up some remaining blood droplets, and then poured a small amount of hydrogen peroxide over the stiches. Again, Leo had to look away as the peroxide foamed and bubbled, like nitric acid eating away his flesh. Finally, she dried the wound and carefully applied gauze and a wrap-around bandage to his foot.
    Eventually, he was wheeled back to the reception area, where he settled his bill in cash. He was told to stay off his foot and to be much more observant of his surroundings. He was given a prescription for pain pills, but knew he would not fill it. The receptionist volunteered to call him a cab, which he eagerly accepted. Leo, who had been overly distracted by the initial pain and the proceedings at the emergency room, was now ruefully aware of his current predicament.
    He knew it would not take Bob long to figure out where he was. He anxiously awaited the arrival of the taxi, hoping that his painful heroics had not all been in vain. When the cab finally arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and eagerly entered the cab.
    “Where to, sir?” the cab driver inquired.
    “The airport. However, I’ll give you an extra fifty if you tell anyone who might ask that you dropped me off at the bus station instead, okay?” He said questioningly.
    The cabby grinned in agreement and responded, “No problem. Hey, for another fifty, I’ll never have seen you before in my life.”
    Leo smiled and waved him on, mentioning that he was in a bit of a hurry. The cab driver took the hint and immediately depressed the accelerator, heading for the airport.
     
    The emergency clinic looked to be closed from a distance. Only a couple of vehicles were visible in the parking lot, and the night lights had just turned themselves off in the half-light of dawn. Rosy streamers mingled with the mist to the west.
    It had been a rough night for everyone. No supper, extreme physical activity, and high tension.