Dorothy's Tour of Cook County: First Hospital, Then Jail

Dorothy just got out of jail. She didn't even have to be in there! There was an outstanding warrant for her because she missed a court date when she was hospitalized recently. Some cops must have seen her on the street, stopped her, and found the warrant in the system. So she spent three or four days in jail until she could get in front of the judge and say she missed her court date because she was in Stroger Hospital.

When she was in Stroger, a nurse gave her $40 on her last day so she could buy her prescriptions. Even at Stroger you have to pay something, even if you ain't got nothin'. She had six prescriptions to fill and they were $6 a piece, I gather. So she got them and a pack of Depends. Then she got busted and didn't have her medicine with her in jail. She looks too skinny right now--her cheekbones are sticking out.

At the Dominick's, last I recall, a box of Depends was about ten bucks. (Maybe Stroger has a deal on Depends, too.) She lucked out--I had a ten in my purse. "When can I come do some work?" she asked.

Tony just did all the snow, I thought. "Tomorrow. You can take out the trash." I haven't even taken out the kitchen or the upstairs bathroom trash for a week, between the cold and the snow and trying to work on a project. It's cold, she might as well come in and warm up for a minute. "Come around 12:30. You can take out the trash and we'll have lunch."