I Can't Wait for the Vaccine

Yes, I can’t wait for the vaccine. I’ll take either the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine – I can’t wait for that RNA to do it’s thing.  I feel this way for two reasons; 1., the obvious - this is the light at the end of the tunnel that will usher in our new normal.  And 2., protection against the non-science believing rubes who don't care about anything but illusions. 

I saw this out there on the internet...

I can't wait for the vaccine for it will protect me and mine from people like Stacey, here. I’m tired of having to depend on Stacey’s ability to grasp common sense or for the common health & welfare of others. She is lacking.  Stacey has proven herself a danger. The concept of other people and their needs escapes Stacey. You may want to brace yourself, Stacey, but it’s not all about you. It is because of the Stacey’s in this world that we – right here in the United States – have well over 300,000 DEAD due to COVID-19. 

Yes, Stacey – the vaccination will free me and mine from the likes of YOU. The stupid, the ignorant, and the evil – a trifecta of protection in a series of two shots, each 21 days apart. There are precious few moments in life when one can get a shot in the arm and be protected from the ineptitude of others. It will be refreshing - liberating really. 

I cannot wait. I cannot wait to embrace the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that the Staceys and Karens of this world may not take the vaccination. If it was only about them, which as we have previously established – it is not, BUT if it was only about them, I wouldn’t care. The trick is our actions, or our inactions affect others - we know this, this is beyond them.  Yes, the Stacey or Karen will refuse the vaccination, contract COVID, and take it to their parents, their friends, and their coworkers. They do not care since it is all about them – it always has been. People like us? We are background actors – non-player characters in Stacey’s or Karen’s world. Therefore, the onus is up to us to outthink and/or outmaneuver the Staceys and the Karens. I can only hope that those around them knows them for what they truly are – the stupid, the ignorant, and/or the evil and they get vaccinated as soon as possible so that they too will be protected against their Staceys and Karens in our selfish, unkind, unenlightened world.

Again, how many times in history can we point at where a vaccination can not only save lives but offer protection against indiscriminate killers - spreaders like the Staceys & Karens?

Not too many. When it becomes available, get vaccinated.

Until such times, wear a mask, wash your hands, and maintain social distance. We will never know how many lives have been saved by these simple measures. Conversely, we will never know how many lives were lost because such measures were ignored.

Do your part and, when you can, get vaccinated.

Adventures in Shopping, Part I

The following is my 3/25/20, entry in my COVID-19 journal.  I’ve been keeping it since the beginning.  I thought that this one was fit for human consumption…

3/25/20

Dan and I went out to Shoprite to replenish some supplies.  Dan wore a Pokémon bandana as a facemask.  It was not out of fashion; nearly half of the other shoppers were wearing masks of some sort.  There were plenty of latex gloves in use, too.  Shoprite has remained a beacon of hope in the community.  Seriously.  All the grocery and convenience stores that have stayed open and continue to operate are.  After all, if the stores are open then things can’t be all bad—right?  Right. 

Shoprite has made some changes.  There are signs that say to maintain 6 feet distance in the front of the store.  They have changed their hours to 7:00 am – 9:00 pm.  Disinfectant is being used by cashiers and, the young lady who checked us out spray cleaned the conveyor belt and was wiping it down as she beckoned us into her lane.  There are plexiglass barriers between the cashier and customer now.  It is that way for all points of purchase—except for self-checkout.

“Did you find everything you were after?” she asked.

“More or less, I’d say.” I said, looking at the newly installed force fields.  “These are a good idea.” I said.

“Yes, although maybe they could be a little bigger.” She replied.  I took a look and, yes, she’s right, maybe they could.  They were erected at the place where the customer is closest to the cashier and not at the card-pad.  “How have you been making out in all this?” she asked us.

“Oh, we’ve been okay. How about you?”

“I’m the one who does the shopping for my grandmother and me.” She said. “I get home, see to things, and then go get what she needs—if we don’t have it already.”

“That’s very good of you.” I said.  She’s a good kid, doing the best she can presented with the circumstances as they are.

“I’ve seen some things here,” she stated. “I had a woman throw chicken at me.”

“That’s horrible!” Dan exclaimed.

“Yeah. I told her that Shoprite had a “one package per person” limit on certain items—including chicken.  She got so mad that she threw it at me.”

“Times like these bring out the best and the worst in people.” I said.  “That’s assault.”

“That’s true.  It’s why there are security guards roaming the store now.”

“Really?” Dan asked.

“Oh, yeah.” She said.

“They must be good,” I volunteered, “I never even saw them.”  For some reason or another, I was thinking that stealth may be beneficial at times as a member of a peacekeeping security force.  …And then it hit me how much things have changed in such a short amount of time.  Two weeks ago, these factors—the 6-foot rule, the masks, the barriers, the security guards—all of it, was to be found in science fiction and not in the ‘real world’, whatever that is.  It hit me that this was the new normal and would be for some time. 

We bid each other the best and went on our way.  She’s a good kid and, most certainly, deserves better than being attacked by a panic-stricken woman who can’t have two trays of chicken because there are other people in the world besides her.

“Thank you for all that you’re doing.” Dan said as we took our leave from her. “Stay safe.”

“You, too.” She said as we left.

So, young lady who checked us out at Shoprite this morning, thank you.  And, once again, to all the workers who are serving their communities at this time, THANK YOU.  You are not and never have been, “just a cashier”, you are a reminder of the normal that was and may be again.  You are hope and there is no price tag on that. 

To my fellow customers, remember, you/we are not the only ships out on the ocean.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we can get there together—in one piece—if we think of others as we are thinking (and shopping) for ourselves. 

Let’s be good to each other out there.  A little kindness, some reason, and social distancing will help us through to the other side of this pandemic.    

So, thank you to the common everyday people who have been deemed essential—the woman who checks you out at the grocery or convenience store, the medical staff—the nurses and doctors doing everything they can to keep people healthy, EMS workers, the people keeping the electricity going—the linemen and everyone else who stands behind them keeping the juice flowing, the fire and police, the garbage collectors, all the people that we don’t see and take for granted for the mere fact that we don’t see them.  Everyday life is ‘normal’ because of what they do.  “Normal” is a relative term, these days.  Each of those listed here have become heroes just by showing up to work.  Society works because they do.  There is NOTHING common about the common man, there never has been.

Your efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Thank you, one and all.

Stay safe, stay healthy.