Rant #2,627: The End

Riddle me this:
 
Why does Canada celebrate “Easter Monday” and in America, we don’t?
 
I truly have no answer to that question, but if you know, then please let me know, too.
 
Anyway, my Good Friday was a good Friday for me, as I got my second—and hopefully final—coronavirus shot, and it went as swimmingly as I guess it could have under the circumstances.
 
Traffic was much lighter getting to Belmont Raceway than it was the last time I went, so I was able to get there in a reasonable amount of time.
 
There were a lot more people at the vaccination site, as I noticed that the impossible parking there had become even more impossible, but I was able to follow someone to their car and after a few minutes, I had a space and walked to the entrance on a really cold day.
 
Again, I was met by lines, but this time it was even more convoluted at first—there was a line for the Pfizer vaccine as well as a line for the Moderna vaccine, both wrapping around the inside rotunda of the raceway.
 
You really had to make sure that you were on the correct line for your shot, as each line was parallel to each other.
 
Yes, it was messy, but I got on the line and the line did move, creeping toward to entryway where you had to sign in.
 
I got to the first checkpoint, passed through with flying colors, and waited on another line to check in.
 
That line weaved its way through various rows, and finally, I checked in, and again, I could see that the person checking me in was having a tough time finding my name.
 
I was just ready to say, “Check my name with my last name as my first name and my first name as my last name,” but as I opened my mouth to say that, the woman found my name, gave me the OK, and I proceeded to another line to wait to get vaccinated.
 
All of this took more than an hour, so I was ready for anything once I got on the line to get vaccinated.
 
But a miracle happened.
 
Once I got on that final line, that line moved quite well, and I finally was dispatched to where I would get the shot—and I met up with another absolutely stunning nurse, once again, this one with brownish blond hair, who also had the gift of gab, and I got my shot after once again telling her that I had had many shots in my life and would not bleed.
 
She said to me, “You didn’t even flinch!” and she put away the Band Aid she was going to use in the process.
 
I was then pointed to the area where I would have to sit and wait 15 minutes, and remembering the last time I went, I sat way up front, because again, the woman reading off the names was not given a microphone to do so, so she had to shout out each name when your 15 minutes was up.
 
The problem was, she shouted out my name when I was in the first row of the waiters, and it wasn’t even 15 minutes yet—it was more like five minutes at most.
 
I questioned her, and she said I could go, and I didn’t even have to check out to go, I could just go.
 
So go I did, feeling fine and feeling that I had just bit a bullet by getting out relatively quickly from there.
 
I went to my car, and got the heck out of there.
 
So the entire process took about 90 minutes, if even that long, and at least an hour of it was waiting on the lines.
 
Done.
 
And I have had absolutely no after effects to this point, either, so I guess I am home free.
 
Now, I can think about everything with a clearer mind, and this is what I think about this whole business.
 
The coronavirus does exist. There is no doubt in my mind that it does exist, does get to some people, and does get to some people in a really bad way.
 
My sister, for one, had it bad, and I mean really bad. She has recovered, but still has symptoms now and again.
 
My father in law had it, and he died from it.
 
I know other people who have had it, and while not hospitalized from it, they did get quite sick from it, and some still have symptoms.
 
Have we gone overboard in protecting ourselves from this scourge?
 
Perhaps we have. We have had other pandemics, and never gone to the measures we have gone to like we have this time around, and somehow, we have survived them all.
 
Most people who have gotten the coronavirus have little or no symptoms and are back on their feet in due time.
 
Maybe less than 1 percent of people who get it get it so bad that they need to be hospitalized, and yes, some die from it.
 
Taking that all into perspective, once I got my then 89-year-old mother her vaccinations, I decided that I would do the same when my time came.
 
It was just a personal thing. Maybe I simply did it for myself.
 
But I did it, and while I do think we have gone overboard, a bit, in how we have handled this thing, I got my shots anyway.
 
Maybe it was a selfish thing. The jury is still out on that.
 
But I did it, and I am happy that I did.
 
Only 33 percent of eligible New Yorkers have gotten their shots, and that isn’t even half of what herd immunity requires to protect everyone—that is at least 75 percent, but ideally, it is in the 80s percentile.
 
I respect those who don’t get the shot, I respect most of their reasoning for not getting the shot, but the fact of the matter is that right or wrong, you are not going to be able to do certain things without the vaccine in your arm.
 
Already, several colleges are not allowing back students to on-site learning without the shot, and you will definitely not be able to cruise without the shot in your arms.
 
Attending venues for various events will also be regulated, and you are going to have to have a shot in your arm to get into places, including some sports and entertainment sites.
 
Is all of this correct? Is this the second coming of the Nazis, where you had to “show your papers” to be able to move about?
 
I honestly don’t know, but I got my shots, and I am comfortable with my stance, even if I did it selfishly.
 
I won’t tell anyone to get their vaccination, but I got mine and as I said, I am happy that I did.
 
End of discussion.