Booster, prayers, and a wry laugh

 

Finally got my new Covid booster today. I mentioned the other day I’d gotten the run-around trying to book an appointment for the Moderna booster at the only local place I could find that has it. We were early for the appointment, as requested. Walgreen’s was late, though when the woman finally gave me the shot, she was most pleasant and also skilled—a painless shot, and tonight my arm is tender but not really sore. But back to the wait at the pharmacy—we were there at least forty-five minutes. When we got to the pharmacy—why are they always in the far back corner of a humongous store?—I was ready to sit down, so Jordan checked me in. I can’t tell you what all occurred, but she was at the counter a long time. When she finally came to sit by me, she said, “They make it so difficult—no wonder a lot of people just won’t bother.”

Jordan herself has had difficulty. You can only make an appointment online or by telephone—and when you try by telephone, you get the dreaded automatic voice on the other end of the phone. Jordan tried online the other day and was told she is not eligible. I thought that was wrong, because this booster has been highly touted for everyone twelve and up. A neighbor said no, you must be over sixty-five or immune compromised. That didn’t sound right to me, so Jordan asked today. She is eligible, but they couldn’t make an appointment with a living, breathing person in front of them. I suppose the earlier verdict of ineligibility was a computer glitch, and if she tries again, it will go through. But she’s not inclined to try again right away, says it’s a busy week, and I should not bug her, so I am keeping quiet (do you have any idea how hard that is for me?).

At any rate, I think it’s bureaucracy gone amuck, and she’s right. The process needs to be streamlined. I know that’s easy for those of us on the consumer end to say, but I’d like to get the word to someone with clout. President Biden counts controlling the pandemic as one of his victories, as well he should, but he needs to have someone look into the delivery process. It’s sad to think people won’t inconvenience themselves, because the number of daily deaths is still high. We had a local case this week of a forty-year-old dad who died. I have no idea of his vaccination status.

The weather around the world seems to have gone amuck—mudslides, floods, typhoons in all corners of the world. Tonight, comes word that power is out to the entire island of Cuba, and Ian is expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category Three or Four hurricane on Wednesday afternoon. Two and a half million people in Florida—think of the enormity of that number! —have been asked to evacuate. Ferocious storms like Ian—and some notable earlier ones like Katrina, Harvey, and Maria—cause damage that is beyond comprehension for those of us who sit inland in safety and pray that maybe we’ll get some rain out of the storm. I remember driving in the Houston area with my daughter-in-law Lisa showing me the high-water marks on buildings. Astounding.

Please join with me in praying for the safety of all those in the path of Ian.

Nice to end the day with a laugh, although I’m sorry to say my laugh makes me sound political and biased once again, but Republicans are having a hard time these days. Dr. Oz said John Fetterman’s habit of wearing shorts and hoodies made it seem that he was attacking authority in the balls—and thereby gave Fetterman a wonderful slogan in a state where people would line up for blocks to attack authority. In Texas, the pretty obviously corrupt Attorney General Ken Paxton, who keeps sticking his nose into other states’ business, ran from his home to avoid a subpoena—literally almost ran. He was in a truck driven by his wife who is a state senator. Paxton has been under indictment for seven long years with no court date, because he keeps gaming the system. And now to think his wife is a state senator. No wonder Texas is a political mess.

But the saddest funny story of all is that trump and DeSantis are now calling each other names. The former guy calls DeSantis “fat, phony, and whiny” (terms that could apply to himself as well) while DeSantis calls his former sponsor “a moron who has no right running for the presidency” (that too could be a two-way street).  And these two adolescent bullies want a chance to run our country? I don’t think so.

So there you have it: a day to inspire prayers and laughter. Do get our booster. It’s worth the trouble.