Well, It’s A Deep One…

Today I want to talk about how and why I got vaccinated.

My story:

I became a ‘vaxxer’ quietly and somewhat reluctantly. My kid’s mother works in a hospital and was able secure us an appointment to get vaccinated. I was still debating as to whether or not I should get ‘the poke’ - ideas of brain control, getting a chip in my body that the government could control or getting side-effects that would be worse than the virus it was fighting all occurred to me pre-poke.

That being said, I did not make a point of looking into the rumors of conspiracies and horrendous side-effects purported by those who made themselves quite evident on social media - I guessed that if the source of these ideas was from non-vetted users on Facebook, Twitter, et al that there was little chance of gleaning any useful information.

I did make a point of getting clear on how the vaccine worked and what the chances were of getting side-effects and what those might be.

After my ‘research’ I determined that the vaccine ‘couldn’t hoit’ and still with a bit of hesitancy, went with my son, and my daughter’s friend to the assigned elementary school in Paterson, NJ to get jabbed.

As I stood on line, which was surprisingly short, the conversation in my brain was 90% “get the shot” and 10% - “you’re going to regret this the rest of your life.” I proceeded through the cue, confirmed my appointment with the receptionist; went to an assigned table where I was asked confirm my identity; walked to the next table where I was asked what arm I wanted to get poked (I told them my left, since I needed use of the other for writing, fearing the worst) and then got poked. The shot was surprisingly painless, in fact I had to be told it was done! I was then instructed to go sit in a waiting area to see if there was going to be any kind of reaction.

Waiting for a poke.

It was then that my mind began to concoct a variety of perilous situations; most were unfounded boiler-plate allergic reactions like my throat would tighten up, my breathing would get heavy, my heart would beat out of my body, etc… this was the most panicked and hysterical I would get throughout the whole process. Thankfully, all of this took place in my brain while on the outside I just looked like a patient browsing his phone, waiting to be dismissed.

Fifteen minutes went by and I felt well enough to go on my merry with my two vaccinated passengers. As far as side-effects went, I did feel a little sleepy and was very happy to get home to take a nap. The next day I was functional but definitely not ‘Mr. Peppy’, but that was it. My kids, on the other hand had flu-like symptoms the day after and just took it easy for 24 hours, but after that, they were fine, too.

Apparently our indoctrination into the government’s hive-mind was easier than one-two-three; either that or we were simply vaccinated and after the second shot - 95% protected from getting Covid-19 - huzzah!

My getting vaccinated was part of the initial burst of folks getting poked once the vaccine became available. I was encouraged by the quick growth in numbers of those joining the ‘jab-train’. Nevertheless, I also noticed that some states were not increasing in numbers as quickly as others and I also began to hear that some folks were not going to get vaccinated at all - WHAAAAAAA???

Many people were still on board with the conspiracy theorists and anti-vax protesters and I thought to myself - “how could this be?” I, too, believe in freedom of speech and of life choices but this virus is killing people and having a chance to positively affect what could happen to us in the future seemed like a ‘no brainer’.

To my mind it’s similar but less ‘in your face’ to what happened when Nazi Germany and Japan threatened our way of life during World War II. Many of our citizens were drafted to help fight the Axis Armies. Yes, we were surrendering our freedom of choice and our freedom of lifestyle but it was for a greater cause. We were unselfish back then and we enthusiastically gave of ourselves for the good of all in our Country.

With this virus we are not just talking about our country but we are talking about the world. We are looking at an ‘enemy’ that threatens every country on the planet. Literally millions of us have already died and that could increase to tens of millions if we are not willing to make the sacrifice of simply getting two shots, dealing with a modicum of discomfort and wearing a mask. We’re not talking about packing up everything, going to boot camp and fighting a foreign scourge. We’re not talking about abandoning our college plans to work in a factory, making weapons. We’re talking about simply getting two shots in the hopes of obliterating this ‘global scourge’ and we’re talking about doing it before it mutates into a variant that our vaccines can’t fight.

Again, I love this country and what it stands for. I love that we are a free nation. And so I greatly appreciate that we can have a difference of opinion and can come to compromises. Hence, am willing to hear the ideas of others who disagree with me in an effort to understand them and perhaps have a change of heart. Please feel free to place your comments below. A healthy discussion is most welcome.

Cheers!