Getting my second COVID-19 shot today, April 2021

It's April of 2021, and today I went over to my local Walgreens and got my second COVID-19 shot. And I thought that you'd be interested in what it felt like. Getting a flu shot isn't something that I usually write about in my history adventuring blog, but this particular one is a piece of history, and I gotta tell ya, I was underwhelmed today.

Don't get me wrong, I was pleased to have it done, and appreciate the Herculean efforts on the part of the people who made it possible, from the researchers, the developers, the people who drove it to here in Glendale, Arizona in of them big-rigs, right down to the nice lady who jabbed me in the arm while I babbled about my wiener dogs (I'm a typical tough guy who doesn't like needles, and my technique is called "refocusing", which means thinking about something else, and looking away). But to me, it was just another shot. I get a flu shot every year, and I'm sure that I got a lot of shots as a kid. I'm a squeamish person, so I do it, but I really don't like to think about it.

So, I really don't have much to say about the experience. I walked over to Walgreens, checked in, filled out the usual paperwork (I read the questions, which say something like "Are you troubled today with Dung Beetles?), go where they tell me to go, read a book on my phone, and then wander off. It was just ordinary, wonderfully ordinary.

Right after my shot I treated myself to a delicious lunch at Boston Market, and felt so good that I decided to take a stroll through the Sahuaro Ranch, and see some peacocks. It was a gorgeous day today, something that I always refer to as "Chamber of Commerce weather".

It's about eight pm now and I'm just starting to feel a bit of tenderness in the left arm, and other than feeling kinda groggy and sleepy, I'm fine. And I'm filled with the feeling you get after you leave the dentist - glad it's over, and ready to move on with my life.

I live in Arizona, and I know that there will be a percentage of people who, for various reasons, will not get themselves vaccinated. I'm a "live and let live" person, but I'm also someone who likes to lead by example. When people ask me how I've managed to become such a fit old guy, I'll tell them that in addition to eating my veggies, I take my medicine, and that includes vaccines.

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