`Avoding it like the plague’ is a tough one

We will listen to our mechanic before our doctor?

The Front Page

Afternoon Update

Sunday, July 25, 2001

By Ken Tingley

My doctor sent me for bloodwork last month because a medication I take can lead to cancer.

I thought he was being extreme.

I thought it was a waste of my time.

I might have said something about bleeding me for another $40 copay.

But I went.

My blood turned out fine, but I trusted my doctor.

If the mechanic tells me I need new brakes, I grumble but give him the green light.

If the lawn guy says I have termites, I tell him to spray.

Every single day we put our trust into professional people who are looking out for us.

Except when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccine.

I saw this little meme on Facebook Sunday. It showed a message scrawled on a chalkboard that read:  “I guess we should retire the expression “avoid it like the plague,” given how little effort people put  into avoiding an actual plague.”

We are in real trouble.

My wife and I often bat ideas back and forth across the dinner table like a pandemic game of tennis.

- The government should just tell everyone there is a shortage of the vaccine, then everyone will line up for it.

- Insurance companies should immediately add $500 to your yearly bill for each member of the family that is not vaccinated.

- Demand proof of vaccination for your workplace or you will be terminated.

- If you have Covid symptoms and are not vaccinated, the hospital should not let you in the door.

Yeah, that one is harsh, but we are supposed to be in this together.

How did we get to this place where so many of us do not trust anything. My own theory starts with the failure of most people to read the newspaper in the morning.

Newspapers keep you informed.

They make you smarter.

They make you a better citizens.

None of that is possible by reading Facebook, or a couple of headlines. And god forbid you get your news from the talking heads on cable news.

The world is complicated, our lives our complicated and you need to work at it if you want to be successful as a human being. You have to use your head. I don’t have the answers to most of my problems, but I usually know where to go to get the answers.

Ultimately, that is the failure here.

If you refuse to be vaccinated, you are failing as a human being.

You are thumbing your nose at your neighbors.

You are telling anyone you come in contact with that you don’t care whether you live or die.

That is the only conclusion any of us can draw from your actions.

I visited Glens Falls Hospital this week for some more blood work. I had to wear a mask.

I visited Hudson Headwaters for a checkup with my doctor. I had to wear a mask.

I went to a packed theater in Texas - yes, Texas - to see a popular comedian and we all had to wear masks through the entire show.

It was uncomfortable, but we all still laughed.

I’m going to the Wood Theater tonight to see a play and I have to show proof of vaccination.

I appreciate that. I applaud that.

I’m going to visit an aunt in a nursing home next week. I will be wearing a mask.

Warren County has the second highest infection rate in the state. Guess who is getting sick? The unvaccinated.

That speaks poorly of all of us.

Last week, my wife saw a half-dozen people lined up in the drug store to get the vaccine. She took it as a good sign. But then she noticed not one of them was wearing a mask.

We are in big trouble.

Chalkboard Part II

The same person who wrote the chalkboard message about “avoiding it like the plague,” also wrote this laugh out loud one:

  “Darn, I got “That kid” in my homeschool class again.”

New book

My collection of columns is going to press sometime this week, but you can still preorder it HERE: Below is also the trailer to the book.

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KPMoore @KPMoore8

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