"Just Shot Me"

Now that the end of the Pandemic seems to be in sight, we are all jostling in line to get The Shot (aka COVID-19 Vaccine).

I see celebrities and government officials doing photo-ops of them getting The Shot.  They rationalize being among the first because of their status as opinion-leaders, or "essential workers" but I am skeptical that seeing Nancy Pelosi or Mitch McConnel getting a shot is persuading any VAX skeptic to offer their arm to allow  alien sperm to be injected.  Nor do I consider either of them to be "essential" since they have accomplished nothing to ensure that the citizens are safe or well-fed. 

It seems to me that the way to stop the pandemic is to offer the vaccine to people who have the most human interactions.  First Priority should be the nurses and doctors who are personally involved with caring for sick patients.  Then other hospital and group facility staff that directly work with residents (and inmates)  and those who have customer facing positions like cashiers, cooks, servers, barbers, letter carriers, tradespeople like plumbers, repair technicians and electricians who need enter residences to do their jobs, people who work at counters, anyone who has hands-on food preparation or delivery. Also Classroom Teachers doing in person classes.  Then anyone in residential homes setting, including visitors.

If folks at these transmission points can be immunized as a priority.  The spread should be easier to stop. Then I would consider offering the vaccine to "essential workers." Active military, cops, firemen, persons who  need to show-up to keep the wheels of society running.  (This excludes most government workers, especially elected representatives.)

After these folks, then the general public should be next in line according to risk factors such as age, ethnicity, economic status, location, compromising health conditions.   This will be tricky.  I think there should be an outreach to "at risk" communities where infection spread is more of a problem.   Although I would be glad to get The Shot because I am over 75 with high BP  and fat (and therefore at higher risk from Covid complications), I think I would rather see a healthy 50 year old who needs to take public transportation to get to work get immunized before me.    

In other words the risk factor should not be solely based on who is most likely to die, but who is most likely to get and spread the disease.  Since I live in a suburb where there are fewer cases, since I stay home except for food and supplies, and I wash my hands, stay masked and distanced when out.  I am less of a spread risk than someone who is in constant close interaction with other folks.

All this intellectualizing is mere virtue signaling,  of course.  My survival instinct hopes that I am called tomorrow and told I am on "the list".  You can be assured:  I will show-up for my shot.

AFTERTHOUGHT: 

When they give you the second Covid shot you should get a card that certifies that you have had vaccine.  Restaurants and other businesses could then post signs saying "Only those who have had vaccine are welcome inside."  New job title for bouncers:  Virus checker.

Mythomania and Idiocracy

Mythomania is a term to describe an abnormal or pathological tendency to exaggerate or tell lies. 

We immediately imagine Donald Trump's picture next to this word in the dictionary, but while he may be the poster boy for this pathology, many of his supporters display the same character flaw.

The November Presidential election provides a good example of how this inability to accept disagreeable facts is manifested.

In Trump's mind, he is a winner.  He never loses, even when he loses.  Forget all those failed businesses (casinos, airline, university, et al.).  They were part of the winning.   He is incapable of admitting to being wrong. He will never apologize for anything.  Why should he?  

Sensible persons recognize that all humans are subject to error (even your humble blogger), and that occasionally, we need to admit our mistakes.  Generally, we subscribe to Swift's famous observation - "To err is human..." - and we can realistically forgive ourselves for an occasional error.

But what if a person cannot admit error?  What psychosis allows them to be blind to unpleasant facts?  I guess it is the same chemical imbalance that convinces the resident of the loony bin to maintain that he is Napoleon.  Logic cannot fix crazy.

 Trump followers are likewise convinced, so much so that they would support overturning  the results (tossing out the legitimate votes) based on an unsubstantiated belief that the evil Democrats have committed  massive fraud.  That is not Democracy, folks.  It's Idiocracy.

Apprentice Oyster Shucker

Not everyone has appreciation for raw oysters on the half shell. Personally, I avoid almost all forms of raw seafood. I come from the Larry Bird school of sushi philosophy -- "Back in Salt Lick, we call it bait." But, somewhere along the way, my wife and I were introduced to the delight of fresh raw oysters and became ardent fans of this lovely bivalve, served on a bed of crushed ice, with lemon wedges --often with cocktail sauce and horseradish. I recall one time when we were being served at a restaurant, the waitress asked, "Can I grab you some hot sauce?" I responded, "Why would anyone want to sully the taste of oysters with hot sauce?" She nodded her agreement, "Maybe someone who doesn't like oysters?" Why anyone who would pay the going rate of around $3 per, would drown the delicate flavor of an oyster with such an odious addition remains an eternal mystery. These days, I have eschewed any condiment beyond a few drops of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Ideally, this dish is accompanied by a dry* Tanqueray martini served straight-up with 3 giant queen olives. My wife prefers a fine** Sauvignon Blanc.

Before the pandemic, like a lot of you, we would go out to eat-in restaurants at least once a week. I won't claim that it was always fine dining, but on occasion, we would splurge for some place like Legal Seafoods, a pricy but excellent restaurant chain in our area. Several years ago, Legal had a wonderful promotion that they called "Six for six before six." Meaning that between four and six PM, you could get a tray of 6 oysters for $6. That promotion went on for a long time and we took advantage of it. We were gravely disappointed when they dropped that promotion. So we started our never-ending search for cheap oysters.

We started going to the Dolphin on Sundays where they offered oysters for $1 each which we call "Buck a shuck.". The normal price for these suckers is about $3 each which is a lot for a little glob of marine protoplasm.

All that changed with the pandemic. Fearful of even al fresco dining, we had gone oysterless for 8+ months.
My friend Rich came by a week ago, bringing with him a half a dozen fresh oysters which he had just received by courier from Damariscotta, Maine. He shucked them for us (in the backyard of course) and we were presented with a delight that we had not known since perhaps last March or even February. It was a wondrous treat, washed down with a cold Sierra Nevada. Heaven, I tell you.

Now, we are obsessed with the prospect of getting our own fresh oysters and having them at home.

Today, I am announcing that I have decided to become an apprentice oyster shucker. I have ordered an oyster knife and a protective glove online from Amazon, and have watched several YouTube videos showing how to shuck an oyster. Thus, I feel armed to venture forth into the world to actually buy oysters that someone else has not shucked. 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Feetnotes
When I was stationed in Wyoming some of the bars had a jar full of something called "mountain oysters". When I inquired about them I was informed that they were pickled sheep's testicles. That was a delicacy that I eschewed and got polish sausages instead.

*By "dry" I mean that the bartender pours a small amount of white vermouth into the martini glass, swishes it around to coat the glass and then pours out the vermouth before adding the gin.)
**By "fine" I mean expensive. By "expensive" I use the term when one glass costs the same as whole bottle of everyday Sauv Blanc. At Legal Seafoods this is usually the Cloudy Bay @ $14 a pop.