That thirty bucks just disappeared into the night. And it really is my fault.

I shouldn’t have tried to fill a prescription in a parking lot at two in the morning.

Obviously.

But then again, I’m pretty friendly with calculated risks. And even closer to consequences. Frankly, I’m relieved he wasn’t a cop.

The fact is, these meds are really tough to come by. The guy grifting me knew that, and I was just drunk enough to let him get my hopes up.

I never did catch his name. Someone said it might be something along the lines of Smurf. It’s not much to go on, but I’m mildly inclined to hunt him down.

I would let the whole thing go if he hadn’t speculated about my motivation.

“People usually want that if they have down sickness.”

down sickness

I’ve got a good idea of what he meant by that, as I am intimately familiar with the broader parameters of this phenomenon. It’s why I was looking for an off-label solution for the treatment-resistant variety.

Now maybe, for my situation, this is an unecessary and ill-advised course of action.

But I don’t really have a problem bringing a gun to a knife fight.

My personal experience tells me it’s an effective approach. And Smurf seems to have some observational wisdom that confirms this.

It’s an indigenous knowledge, not necessarily more or less correct than any other knowledge. It’s likely incomplete, but undoubtedly unique enough to offer a fresh perspective on an exhausted topic.

Rather than retribution or vengeance, if I’m going to pursue this guy for anything, it’s that.

Either way, as far as I’m concerned, a few bucks ain’t a bad price for a valuable lesson and a mildly interesting story.