Secrecy

"Come by for a slice of pie," Roberta had said. "Save me from myself, 'cause I'll have eaten the entire thing by 10am." As instructed, they arrived at 9:30. Instead of going directly into the kitchen from the side door, they went downstairs - through the clean but empty family room and around the racks of basement boxes to a nondescript door that entered into a lovely antechamber. Here, they could slip into a gown privately and head into the exam room when ready. It was state of the art (almost sci-fi) and Roberta was there in her lab coat to give them the once-over. "Blood pressure is a little high," she said gently, "so ... maybe hypertension or, maybe, stressors have just got you all wound up and you tend to keep that in." "Do I need a prescription?" they asked, concerned. "Yes," Roberta replied (nodding). "I'm going to prescribe way more fun in life starting immediately ... " This was the way that it typically went with Roberta - common sense out front and good medicine behind. 100% confidential and 100% free; all of the retired doctors - Roberta, Ed, Shakti, Monroe - had a shared passion, a commitment to total secrecy, a key to the place, and a light schedule. "Keep it simple; don't jump right into pickleball like a damn fool," Roberta continued, wrapping up the appointment with encouragement and some recommendations for easy changes. That the healthcare was always available and life-changing was a bonus; Roberta and the others were simply going for "subversive".