In this day of fast-paced, assembly line, find a doc on a
list, impersonal medical experiences, the home town doc is a thing of the past.
Even more so now that a local dentist has retired. Dr. John Walton has been in
the same little office for 32 years, on the side of the road by the movie
theatre way before there was a movie theatre there, across the road from Home
Depot and Wal-mart, when he started out the view was just trees.
Dr. Walton was never in a hurry, would sit and talk for as
long as you wanted to. Over the years we have heard all about Dr. Walton and
his family and activities. He used to work on wooden boats, he likes to go to Asheville , he likes to
hike. We heard about his daughter who had a brain tumor when she was younger,
all about his son going to college.
On my last visit, after checking on my new crown, instead of
the usual chit chat, the doc disappeared into the next exam room. I looked over
at Anissa and said, "Gee, I was going to at least shake his hand, tell him
bye." She said, "Don’t even go there or he will lose it."
Then while checking out, Joan talked about how they watched
Carrie grow up from a child into a 30-year-old woman… then she started in,
glassy-eyed and sniffling.
The girls in the office, Joan and Anissa, upon finding out last
fall about the impending retirement, started planning a memory book for the
doc, and asked all of us patients/friends to contribute something for the book.
I hope is it overflowing with good memories, just a small token of the impression
he has made on all of our lives.
Dr. Walton,
You have an excellent 'chairside' manner. You always greet
me like an old friend, asking about the family etc. At one point I wondered if
you had notes in the chart like, "She worked at the hospital, she likes
hiking - kids are Melissa and Carrie - ask where Buddy is working now".
You distract us by telling stories. One of my favorites is
about when your son went to camp and forgot his toothbrush, a whole week - a
dentist's nightmare! Stories about hiking, boat building, your family. When I
get home from the dentist, Buddy asks, "What did the Doc have to say
today?" Or when Carrie comes from the dentist, she calls and says,
"Dr. Walton says Hi!"
Thank you for taking care of our family all these years. And
thanks for not reporting us to the authorities when Carrie came in with a
busted lip/tooth from her 'scooter accident'.
I hope you enjoy your early retirement. Continue on your
quest to find the perfect hiking trail (one without bugs, snakes, or poison
ivy) and let us know if you do. Enjoy the peacefulness of nature along the way.
Keep in touch, we are on Facebook and blogs and if you are
lucky we will sign you up for Buddy's annual Christmas Letter!
The Tidwells - Buddy, Susan, Melissa, and Carrie
