gosh I loved this story! Reminds me of home. As a resident in a very rural town in missouri, our clinic works the same way. If you can afford care, you pay, if not, you give a little donation if you can. The docs here arent big city people who drive flashy cars, they are just local men and women who will ask about your family, and make sure each and every person in our town gets good medical care. We have a helipad for big emergencies, but most often the local docs take care of it all. I had to giggle when I took my oldest boy in last week for strep throat. The doctor ( new to our little town) asked me if he would need a note regarding him taking cough medicine, to avoid being drug tested! Imagine, living in a place where you had to drug test 5th graders.... He had good intentions, and took great care with my boy, but it sure did make me laugh when he asked.