1. Name three or more things, scenarios, or ideas that come to mind from Dr. Vance's comments in this book. Be specific on details or ideas.

One scenario that comes to mind from this book is when Dr. Vance speaks of Mr. Lonely Mann.  Mr. Lonely Mann's wife had passed away and he was in living arrangements with his son and daughter in law.  This man of course was very lonely because of his wife's passing but one thing that really seemed to bother him was the "push button" meals.  Dr. Vance stated that " it almost brought tears to my eyes".  I think that is an amazing thing to hear from a doctor. Most doctors would probably feel sorry for him but not actually feel the emotional loss for the patient.  I also loved the saying "push button" meals in reference to microwave dinner. It is easy to understand the way this guy felt about the meals just from his use of words, even though it wasn't the major problem bothering him

The second scenario that comes to mind is  when Dr. Vance talked about the way that Barter Theatre used to sell tickets for food at that time.  He brought that concept into his speaking of the physician/patient relationship.  He said that he did not see why it could not be that way in the physician/patient relationship, accepting food and other items in return for his medical treatments.  I agree with this.  I do understand why doctors need their wages but it would be nice if under certain circumstances this could be used ( probably impossible).  This showed Dr. Vance's view on his medical career; he seemed to be there to help in all ways possible under any circumstance because he cared, not just because he wanted the money.

The third scenario that comes to mind is the use of the skunk to rid off the signs and symptoms of pneumonia.  I had never heard of anything like this before.  It is funny the way that Dr. Vance stated that he could smell the man way before he ever got to the house itself, and that he probably wouldn't be back for a long time.  This would truly have to be considered a home rememedy. I am sure that it took everything he had to talk to the patient and find out what was actually going on.

The fourth scenario that comes to mind was one that Dr. Vance spoke of in a religious sense.  He was talking about problems involving falling asleep and how many people state that you should  count sheep. To Dr. Vance this was not the answer.  He stated that instead of counting sheep you should try talking to the sheperd. This is an amazing concept and idea.  I agree with it completely but had never thought about the subject in that context before. 

2. Did Dr. Vance differ from other doctors, from doctor's you have worked with, in the way he listened to patients? Explain.  

Most defenitely.  Dr. Vance truly listened to his patients.  Most doctors listen to the problems that a patient tells them that they are experiencing, diagnoses the problem, prescribes a treatment, and goes on to the next patient.  Dr. Vance was not like this.  He not only knew the medical problems that were affecting these patients but personal problems as well.  He knew more about his patients than alot of people know about their friends.  I am not saying that there is not always a doctor-patient relationship, but Dr. Vance defenitely took it a big step further. He cared to know what all of the issues involving a patient were and how he could help.  But, not only did he listen, he also never forgot.  He seems to have carried every individual story with him, helping him in future cases. I think he was an amazing doctor. If he had not listened to his patients the way he did he would have never been able to document as much information as he did.( and I am sure there was much more in his memory besides what was on the pages)

3.  Many folks, especially folks not from this area, think that Dr. Vance condescends or disrespects the folks he discusses in this book.  Tell, in detail, why you agree or disagree with this opinion.

I do not agree with this opinion.  Dr. Vance was giving his real life account of these patients.  He did not want to change the way he saw them because it would not let the reader feel what he felt in dealing with each case. It would give a false sense of this area and take away from the heart of Dr. Vance's work if it had been done any differently.  The dialect used in the book was the dialect that his patients used.  He would not have been accurately recording stories if he had changed anything he wrote.  I do not feel that anyone in this area would find this book disrespectful in any way.  I also feel that if people not from this area learned more about it they would understand why Dr. Vance chose to write the book in the manner that he did. The reader is able to almost go to every scenario with Dr. Vance and feel what he felt while he was there.  I found myself laughing out loud many times through out my reading of the book.  I was not laughing becuase I thought these people were silly or stupid, but because I could actually imagine and see in my head what was going on.

I observed one of the most compassionate doctor's I have ever seen.  He was a man who went above and beyond his lines of work to do what he felt was necessary.  I wish there was a way to keep people like this around to teach future physicians the way that medical visits should be done.  He was a man that found his patients to be amazing, unique individuals and cared about them all in seperate, loving ways.  He didn't want any of their stories to be lost and felt that they were important enough to be remembered for years to come.  That is a love that should truly be cherished and one that you don't always find in the medical world.  Compassion is truly a wonderful characteristic of a person.