Dept. of It Happened, Really
In Line at the Pharmacy
I had an interesting encounter Wednesday, while I was in line at BB's pharmacist to pick up one of his prescriptions.
The line was long, as lines at his pharmacy have been of late, for reasons I can only imagine have to do with 1) fewer folks behind the counter, from pharmacists to pharmacy technicians; 2) more people getting prescriptions there and 3) (this one has to do with my encounter) people getting COVID vaccines of various sorts having to stand in the same line as prescription patrons.
A young woman I'd previously noticed because of her noticeable height, (really tall), her leopard-print mask that neither she nor her nose apparently wanted to protect said nose, her very blue eye-shadow - much like my mother's eye shadow in the 1960s, all shiny and ... shiny, yeah ... shiny - and her aura of irritation, wandered past me going one way, then came back and got in line behind me.
The irritation was because, she said to someone else in line, she'd had an appointment to get vaccinated, but had been told she still had to wait in line.
I think I might been equally irritated in her place. However, much of her irritation was, she made it known to a far larger number of people, because "I don't even want the vaccine. I don't want to get it. It's stupid."
Since she'd said this loud enough to suggest she'd waived her right to privacy, I turned to her and thanked her for doing it. I told her I was immunocompromised, but didn't get a chance to complete the sentence; my comment had apparently made her feel she had to explain just why she was getting the vaccine she'd just excoriated; her parents. Perhaps this was her way of recognizing what I'd mentioned? I wasn't sure.
"Yeah, they're old; I don't want to get it - I've had it twice already so I probably have antibodies (by which, I must assume, she either meant she'd had two previous vaccination shots, in which case, her antipathy to a booster seemed over much, or had twice tested positive for COVID, in which case, oh, boy, what's wrong with this sentence ... but I digress), but my parents, they're old and they live in Florida."
I said, "I can imagine there's a lot to worry about in Florida." She did not see the "Gentle Sarcasm" light blinking on and off over my head. She simply said, "Yeah. They're old." Because I might not have heard her before.
At that point, I said the only thing I could think of saying: "You're a good daughter. Thank you."
"Yeah, well ... I guess." She smiled a little bit.
I eventually got BB's prescription. She eventually got her shot. And I decided that thanking her for being a good daughter was probably a lot more useful as a tool of positive reinforcement than, "You, dear girl, are showing signs of being an idiot. Also, pull the mask over your damned nose, were you born in a barn? did you not pay attention to how to wear them back when they were introduced in 2020, or do you think having it sag around your philtrum is either a fashion statement, or a political declaration of Muh Freedum?" This entry was originally posted at https://kaffy-r.dreamwidth.org/818370.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.
I had an interesting encounter Wednesday, while I was in line at BB's pharmacist to pick up one of his prescriptions.
The line was long, as lines at his pharmacy have been of late, for reasons I can only imagine have to do with 1) fewer folks behind the counter, from pharmacists to pharmacy technicians; 2) more people getting prescriptions there and 3) (this one has to do with my encounter) people getting COVID vaccines of various sorts having to stand in the same line as prescription patrons.
A young woman I'd previously noticed because of her noticeable height, (really tall), her leopard-print mask that neither she nor her nose apparently wanted to protect said nose, her very blue eye-shadow - much like my mother's eye shadow in the 1960s, all shiny and ... shiny, yeah ... shiny - and her aura of irritation, wandered past me going one way, then came back and got in line behind me.
The irritation was because, she said to someone else in line, she'd had an appointment to get vaccinated, but had been told she still had to wait in line.
I think I might been equally irritated in her place. However, much of her irritation was, she made it known to a far larger number of people, because "I don't even want the vaccine. I don't want to get it. It's stupid."
Since she'd said this loud enough to suggest she'd waived her right to privacy, I turned to her and thanked her for doing it. I told her I was immunocompromised, but didn't get a chance to complete the sentence; my comment had apparently made her feel she had to explain just why she was getting the vaccine she'd just excoriated; her parents. Perhaps this was her way of recognizing what I'd mentioned? I wasn't sure.
"Yeah, they're old; I don't want to get it - I've had it twice already so I probably have antibodies (by which, I must assume, she either meant she'd had two previous vaccination shots, in which case, her antipathy to a booster seemed over much, or had twice tested positive for COVID, in which case, oh, boy, what's wrong with this sentence ... but I digress), but my parents, they're old and they live in Florida."
I said, "I can imagine there's a lot to worry about in Florida." She did not see the "Gentle Sarcasm" light blinking on and off over my head. She simply said, "Yeah. They're old." Because I might not have heard her before.
At that point, I said the only thing I could think of saying: "You're a good daughter. Thank you."
"Yeah, well ... I guess." She smiled a little bit.
I eventually got BB's prescription. She eventually got her shot. And I decided that thanking her for being a good daughter was probably a lot more useful as a tool of positive reinforcement than, "You, dear girl, are showing signs of being an idiot. Also, pull the mask over your damned nose, were you born in a barn? did you not pay attention to how to wear them back when they were introduced in 2020, or do you think having it sag around your philtrum is either a fashion statement, or a political declaration of Muh Freedum?" This entry was originally posted at https://kaffy-r.dreamwidth.org/818370.html?mode=reply, where there are currently
comments. You can comment there or here, but prefer to read over on DW. You can comment there using open ID if you don't have a DW account.