tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post7483528641569156324..comments2023-11-20T00:23:16.290+01:00Comments on Stethoscope On Rome: The Perils Of Fast FoodSusan Levenstein, MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04664082134917253721noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-67416218436693316872017-11-01T10:22:05.235+01:002017-11-01T10:22:05.235+01:00Ah, now I see. Perfectly probable, alas.Ah, now I see. Perfectly probable, alas.Susan Levenstein, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664082134917253721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-76840745190328703192017-11-01T07:33:51.364+01:002017-11-01T07:33:51.364+01:00Not quite...I don't they make conscious decisi...Not quite...I don't they make conscious decisions about how to handle specific cases. But they have ingrained habits, and procedures which make them react in a certain way. What I'm saying basically is that they are more attuned to legal realities ("the patient wants to sue", "they need witnesses for the coming gas explosion) than to physical realities ("stopping a potential epidemic/explosion"). As a way of dealing with legal reality their procedure (sort of) makes sense...As a way of managing the real world somewhat less so...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12188630807015973844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-43289966922107127122017-10-26T15:24:17.306+02:002017-10-26T15:24:17.306+02:00An interesting thought, which I may not have fully...An interesting thought, which I may not have fully understood. Are you saying the public health authorities thought THEY might get blamed for my patient's illness? And if what they wanted was a witness all they needed was his personal I.D....?Susan Levenstein, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664082134917253721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-76898813469912448152017-10-25T12:38:53.438+02:002017-10-25T12:38:53.438+02:00My own knee-jerk (possibly prejudiced) reaction: t...My own knee-jerk (possibly prejudiced) reaction: the main preoccupation of Italian administration is not to manage the real world (prevent epidemics, gas explosions etc.) but to assign (and avoid) responsibility for the (presumed uncontrollable) things that happen there. When they asked for a report from your patient, or for my name and address it was to get witnesses....and to show they had done so...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12188630807015973844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-64516573750270264762017-10-24T10:16:09.520+02:002017-10-24T10:16:09.520+02:00A classic. Tell an Italian and you might get, &quo...A classic. Tell an Italian and you might get, "Ma non è morto nessuno, non è successo niente," nobody died so what are you getting upset about.Susan Levenstein, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664082134917253721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-63883978218392404142017-10-24T07:31:36.832+02:002017-10-24T07:31:36.832+02:00A memory of my own - from the depths of time.
I ...A memory of my own - from the depths of time. <br /><br />I am walking through the deserted streets of Florence - late at night. I smell gas. Run to find a phone booth - no cell phones in those days - call the emergency services. "Your name sir?Your full name? Your nationality? Your date of birth? Your passport number?"...<br /><br />In the end they came...There was no explosion....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12188630807015973844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-91512777169351886842017-10-23T21:56:50.487+02:002017-10-23T21:56:50.487+02:00You put it better than I ever could... Actually on...You put it better than I ever could... Actually once I got screwed over - in what way is a memory lost in the sands of time - and wrote a letter to the Repubblica newspaper which got published and brought results. Works better than calling City Hall.Susan Levenstein, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664082134917253721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-8580378647330713272017-10-23T21:53:59.063+02:002017-10-23T21:53:59.063+02:00Yes, yes, the restauranteurs pay taxes only on wha...Yes, yes, the restauranteurs pay taxes only on what they emit proper receipts for. Sometimes the cops check - I was once stopped on my way out of the Caffé S. Eustachio and asked for my receipt - and then turn offending establishments in to the local equiv. of the IRS. A customer who fails to hold on to such a receipt can also be fined!Susan Levenstein, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664082134917253721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-31754933688362584282017-10-23T21:51:24.618+02:002017-10-23T21:51:24.618+02:00hope, as I don't have to tell you, is the last...hope, as I don't have to tell you, is the last to dieSusan Levenstein, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664082134917253721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-4918847442388900562017-10-23T21:50:37.664+02:002017-10-23T21:50:37.664+02:00Bureaucracy is an incurable disease. See Fantozzi&...Bureaucracy is an incurable disease. See Fantozzi's cloud https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantozzi_(film)Susan Levenstein, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664082134917253721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-38428568115502639252017-10-23T16:11:52.609+02:002017-10-23T16:11:52.609+02:00When I started living in Italy I was shocked at th...When I started living in Italy I was shocked at the resignation of the citizens who feel/know there is no recourse when things go wrong. Who you gonna call? Nobody takes responsibility. The feeling that one shouldn’t waste time even trying to find out, never mind contacting whoever is in charge, has proved contagious. In trying to get a railing put up on stairs to the entrance of Teatro dell’Opera for we aged, hobbling opera-goers, or one for steps in a pedestrian passageway I must roll my shopping cart down, hoping not to roll down with it … I am stopped dead in my tracks when I am told to contact "Il Comune" (City Hall). Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014250666894072130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-23533378303971356662017-10-23T14:10:39.092+02:002017-10-23T14:10:39.092+02:00I vaguely remember some odd requirement while vis...I vaguely remember some odd requirement while visiting Italy... for restaurant patrons to retain receipts in order to prove something, but I never understood what, why, or for how long. Nothing to do with this particular story, just a puzzlement. Your tone in writing these entries is reminiscent of James Herriot's. I am enjoying the window into a culture unfamiliar to me. Thanks for sharing.<br />Julie Rockefellernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-59377759673108808672017-10-23T00:35:34.847+02:002017-10-23T00:35:34.847+02:00Oh noooo. No hope then. Oh noooo. No hope then. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18118711353918959788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6211405954943098401.post-33792866587540785772017-10-22T23:22:16.356+02:002017-10-22T23:22:16.356+02:00Love your blog, Susan. It's entertaining and ...Love your blog, Susan. It's entertaining and illuminating. This story is soooo Italian. Do you have a treatment for bureaucracy-caused nausea?David Steinnoreply@blogger.com