Rant #2,846: Bang Bang

Hey, it’s finally Friday!
 
One more day to go, and then we go into the weekend.
 
And today, my son and I will be getting our “booster” shots.
 
I put the word “booster” in quotes, because at least for the Pfizer shots, it is not a true booster; it is a third shot.
 
Honestly, I don’t think we need a third shot, I really don’t want a third shot, but we are getting it anyway.
 
“Why?” you might ask.
 
The only reason we are getting the shot is that my family and I are finally, after three years, planning a vacation this year during the summer.
 
It will be a car trip, since we bailed out on our cruise.
 
We will finally be venturing out of New York, going to other places, meeting up with other people, sleeping in hotel rooms along our route.
 
And that is the only reason we are going to get the shots.
 
Things are pretty much relaxed in our neck of the woods, with percentages way down, and we also don’t have to wear masks everywhere anymore.
 
I guess you can say that getting the third shot shows we are being extra careful, since again, it is the first time we will be venturing out of New York, and Long Island, in three years.
 
We don’t want anything to go wrong during the trip, so we will err on the side of caution, if you will, to make sure our trip goes well.
 
I know that millions of people will agree with my stance, while millions of others will disagree with me, and that is fine.
 
I think in the situation we are in, you have to make up your own mind what is right for you, and I did just that.
 
Not everyone is getting the so-called “boosters,” and I understand that entirely.
 
Two shots should be enough, and for me, the third shot will be the end of it for me.
 
Unless there is a valid reason to take another such shot, this will be it for me.
 
For my son, he is an adult, and he will make his own decision.
 
He is the one still working, still dealing with co-workers and others, so getting a shot beyond this shot—which, as you know, is being talked about—will be his decision entirely … or the decision of his employers, who requested that he show proof that he received the first two shots, but not the booster shot.
 
But for me, unless there is a valid reason to get another shot, I am done.
 
That is my decision, and it is also my decision to not tell anyone to get the third shot; that is your decision, too, and I am not going to tout this thing as something that you really should do.
 
And I hope that no one is forced to get the third shots; I do not believe in mandates, I believe in being realistic, and millions of Americans had to or were forced to get the initial two shots for one reason or another.
 
There is no such reason to get the booster shot; I am simply doing it not as a political stance, but because I have personal reasons for getting it.
 
As for the masks, I have been kind of weaning myself off of them for the past few weeks.
 
Some places I don’t wear then anymore—some supermarkets, the post office, a few other places—and some places I still wear the mask—some other supermarkets, some department stores, and in my son's sports activities.
 
Once I get the booster, the mask will come off in more places, until I get to the point where the only places I will wear the mask is where it is required, like doctors’ offices.
 
I think that that is the best way to do it for me … maybe not for you, but for me it is the best way.
 
Again, there is nothing political in what I am saying, these are decisions I have made for myself, not for you and not for anyone else, which, again, is that way it should be.
 
Nobody should be shamed in whatever decision they make. The Florida governor deriding those high school kids for wearing their masks at a press conference held the other day is completely unacceptable behavior by an adult who should know better.
 
So the bottom line is do what you feel is right for you, and I will do what I feel is right for me.
 
I still hold my stance that just about everyone is going to have to get the initial two doses of the shots one way or the other—I am not saying that is right, but I am being a realist—but beyond that, no one should be forced to do anything.
 
You make your own bed, and you will lie in it, for better or worse.
 
I will not be at my usual perch on Monday, as that day is going to be super busy one for me.
 
Not only do I have an early appointment on that day, but I also have a funeral to go to later on in the morning, so I am going to have to take that day off, but I will be back here on Tuesday.
 
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again not on Monday, but on Tuesday … with my third shot in my arm and without any major problems with it.