December 2020

you gonna do it?

Hello.

Good morning, Dad.  How are you?

Oh hi Jennie.  You’re calling earlier than usual.  Everything okay?

Yes.  I just was eating breakfast and watching the news.  You gonna do it?

Do what?

You know, take the shot, the vaccine.  It’s out and they’re starting to give it today you know.

Yeah I know.  You think I don’t follow the news?

So?

So what Jennie?  

Well I was hoping you changed your mind about the vaccine.

Nope.  Why should I?   I don’t know anyone who’s caught the virus.

What do you mean you don’t know anyone who’s caught it?  What about Charlie Yost?

I don’t know Charlie.  He’s Al’s brother and not really my friend.  And besides he didn’t get that sick.  Only six days in the hospital and now he’s home according to Al and he’s doing fine.

Dad.  You’re in a high risk group whether you want to admit it or not.  You’re 76, overweight, your blood pressure’s not that great, and the doctor said you got to be watched for diabetes.  You  really need the shot when they say it’s your turn.

It’s not going to be my turn for maybe three maybe more months. So why are you being so pushy now?

Because I want to be sure you’ll take it when it is your turn.

How do you know the vaccine is really gonna work?  That there’s not gonna be all kinds of bad effects they don’t know about?  I mean they really rushed to get it out.  How do we know they didn’t take too many shortcuts?

Because there are a lot of experts who say that they did not.  They tested it on what?  Thirty or forty thousand?

Experts!  That Fauci said at first, no masks, and then he changed his mind and pushed masks.  I heard on Brickbats that they doctored the test results to hide the problems.

Dad, Brickbats is just full of baloney.  And Fauci changed his recommendations when more facts came in.  He kept an open mind which is what I hope you’ll do.  

Brickbats just tells it like they see it.  You go ahead and watch CNN.  You think they don’t put in their slant on the news?  Brickbats is beholden to no one except their listeners.  And I watched Hannah Holmes last night and she said that she wouldn’t trust the vaccine.  Said a lot of the financing was done by the Chinese who’ll make a fortune after giving us the virus in the first place.  In fact she said it was probably deliberately spread just so they could profit from it.

Where does she get this stuff?  Dad, this vaccine was developed by American scientists at Stanford University and most of the money was from the US government.

Yeah, but she said two of the scientists were Chinese. 

So what?  Dad, they’re working in the USA, not in Wuhan.

And then my buddy sent me some info he got that said the vaccine has microchips that will be implanted in you so the government can keep track of you.  Said Bill Gates is masterminding it.

Oh come on Dad!  Gates is working on vaccine development to benefit Third World countries.  He’s a good guy who’s using his money to help others.

Yeah.  And ain’t that the perfect cover.  Hannah’s gotten a lotta things right.  Like the fraud business.

I’m not even gonna go there with you on that one.  You know how I feel.  Dad, I know you and some of your buddies get together to watch the games and have a few cold ones, and do not follow the guidelines.  All the more reason to get the shot if you’re not gonna to follow the rules.  I bet you don’t even mask when you go out.

We got our own little bubble.  There’s just the five of us, that’s all.  And no one’s gotten sick. 

But each of you gets exposed to other people when you go home.  Your bubble’s got a lot of leaks.

Look—what about your pal Al.  His brother had it.

They don’t live together.  So, so what if his brother had it?  Al never got it.

As far as you know.  A lot of the cases don’t have symptoms.  

Well, if Al got it and gave it to all of us, then we’re the lucky ones who never had symptoms.  And yes, when I go out, I wear a mask if the store insists.  I’m not like those hardasses who gets in fights with store personnel by refusing to wear one.  I think masking’s a lot of BS, but I don’t need a hassle.  

Do you wear it properly and do you wash your mask after using?

What is this, a quiz show?  No, I take it off as soon as I’m outside.  The stores may require a mask inside.    But there’s no law that says you have to wear it outside.  And they don’t say that you got to wash it.

Oh Dad, it’s just that I worry about you.  Will you please think hard about getting the shot?  I definitely will.

And when people who get the shot start turning into zombies like I heard could happen, don’t say I didn’t warn you.  If a virus can make you a zombie, who says a virus vaccine can’t? 

Okay Dad.  We got time to see what happens to the first people who get it.  But I’ll bet you the vaccine will be safe and effective.

Yeah, and if it is effective maybe I won’t need to take it at all if that herd immunity works.

Dad, you can’t take that chance.  Promise me you’ll at least think about getting it and not just close your mind.  I’ll call you again later on like usual.  Okay?

Okay.  You’re a good kid, Jeannie.  Thanks for worrying.

And don’t believe everything on Brickbats or what that Hanna Holmes says.

You believe your news Jeannie and I’ll believe mine.  Take care.

Take care Dad.  I love you.

Thanks Jeannie.