Getting the Shot

 

 No problem thinking of something to write about this week.  It took some wrangling, but once California opened up the vaccine to everyone over 65, we managed to get appointments for the shots. When I say wrangling, it meant dealing with a confusing website that had conflicting information and changed over night.  We were able to get appointments for the both of us at Magic Mountain, which is an amusement park located on the 5 freeway just before the part of the road that was closed due to weather.

The sky was a leaden gray and cold for Southern California which meant that the temperature hovered around fifty degrees.  We had an appointed time but had no idea how exact that was going to be.  I’d heard that several days earlier the wait time at Dodger Stadium was five hours.  We brought snacks and drinks and headed out.  Traffic was light and we arrived at our appointed time.  It was an odd sight to see the roller coasters looming in the distance and we went through the parking kiosks.  This time there was no one collecting any fees despite the posted 25 dollar fee.  There wasn’t anybody in the kiosks at all.  It was clear sailing until the car in front of us stopped and we saw that we had joined a long line of not moving cars.  Ahead all we could see were some distant tents with endless cars between us and the enclosures.

The view was pretty desolate– brownish mountains and a cold sky that threatened to turn rainy.  The line of cars began to move slowly and pretty soon the zig zaggy line became apparent.  Eventually we passed the first checkpoint.  A woman with shrouded in plastic with a mask and a face shield asked to see our Ids and appointment form which I had on my phone.  She was extremely friendly which surprised me considering the number of people there and the setting.  We inched up a bit and our temperatures were taken by another very pleasant person.

There was more zig zagging and finally we were directed into a line going into the covering where the actual shots were given.  There were about 15 spots.  A car in the line next to us died and the passenger had to get out and push the SUV up as it inched forward. It was something to watch while we continued our caterpillar crawl toward our goal.  Eventually and before the people in that car got their shot, five security people came out and pushed the SUV through and off to the side.  I don’t know if they ever got their shots.  The last I saw the hood was up on the vehicle.

Finally we were up.  There were some questions like which arm do you want the shot in and do you have allergies.  Our driver’s license were taken to log something in and it was time to get it.  The woman who gave the shot to me was fantastic.  How many shots had she already given and how many more was she going to give and yet she treated me as if I was the only person getting it.  She was friendly, kind and most all so good at what she did, I didn’t even feel it. We were given out licenses back along with a card with an appointment for the second shot.

Then we moved on to the waiting area.  Another very pleasant woman came up to the car and asked how we were.  Since we were fine after 15 minutes we were free to go.  All together we were there about three hours.  As we sailed out of the place a long line was waiting including someone we knew.  Apparently, they got through the whole thing in about an hour and a half, so apparently timing makes a difference. Our appointment was at 11:30 while there’s was at 3:00.

 So far the only effect I noticed was minor pain in my arm.  It is a huge relief.  I am on the way to rejoining the world.