Let's Make A Deal

 I went up to Safeway to get my flu shot last Friday. Not the place I am used to getting my flu shot. Last year I got it on the sidewalk out in front of Kaiser Permanente. They gave me a mask for my trouble. The folks at Safeway gave me a coupon for ten percent off a grocery purchase. For the past several years before that, I was getting my flu shot at school. I made a point of getting stuck in front of kids to prove that I was being just as brave as they were. And I got a sticker. Over the years I got several stickers. And I got the piece of mind that comes with being vaccinated. 

Against the flu. Nothing controversial here. I've been getting flu shots for decades now. Because I am an elementary school teacher. I spend great portions of each day wading through crowds of short people with runny noses and questionable hygiene habits. I have described this as "working in a Petri dish." Last year I still went ahead and got myself a flu shot even though I spent most of it sitting alone at a table with only the occasional visit from a parent or a student needing assistance with a computer. Otherwise, I was in my own private germ-free bubble. If ever I was going to miss an inoculation, it should have been last year. 

But I went ahead and got it anyway. I have a healthy respect for germs, and nothing in the past two years has shaken that belief. Especially since the way COVID doubters had been woofing about how many people die every year from the flu. If somebody tells me that I will be healthier if I take their medicine, I'll go ahead and roll up my sleeve. If that somebody happens to be a scientist. Or a doctor. Not somebody with a podcast. 

While I was at Safeway, I noticed that they were also offering shingles vaccine. I thought about having them go ahead and jab my other shoulder while I was there. Maybe I could get another ten percent off coupon. Did I mention that I got the flu shot for free? 

Such a deal.