It’s booster time at the pharmacy and the lobby is completely full of people: people standing in line to be helped and people sitting in chairs waiting for shots. We have TWO registers and a couple of computers for checking people in. People are picking up prescriptions, dropping off prescriptions, getting checked in for shots, getting rung out for shots, and also receiving their required paperwork to do shots. I am barely staying on top of helping everybody while I check people in and ring people out. We’re fully staffed but in the middle of a Monday morning rush.

Without warning, a customer comes up to the counter.

Customer: “My appointment was at 11:30.”

It’s now 12:15 pm.

Me: “Did you check in?”

Customer: “I shouldn’t have to check in; I did all that online.”

I’m thinking, “Okay, he just made his appointment online, showed up at 11:30, and sat his butt down expecting someone would eventually give him a shot.”

Customer: “You’re not doing your job. I want to speak to the pharmacy manager!”

Me: “The pharmacy manager is not here, but I can get the store manager.”

Customer: *Pointing* “Who’s that guy over there?”

Me: “He’s our staff pharmacist.”

He gets angry and accuses me again of not doing my job, saying that he shouldn’t have to check in, so I go page the store manager.

Customer: “I have to leave soon. Just give me my shot.”

In the time this has taken, my coworkers and I have managed to check him in.

Me: “You have to fill out this paperwork and I have to ring you out.”

Customer: “I’ll fill out the paper; just give me my shot.”

I hand him the paper and he starts to walk away. At this point, the store manager shows up.

Store Manager: “What’s going on?”

Me: “This guy has a problem with us.”

The store manager went to talk to him, so I went in the back part of the pharmacy and complained to my coworkers about the insanity of it all.

When you go to a doctor’s office, you check in at the counter and you sit down and patiently wait for a nurse to call you back. Not once have I ever seen somebody throwing a self-entitled tantrum at the doctor’s office. Yet people seem to find it okay to abuse hard-working pharmacy employees who are trying their best to help everyone.

I come down with a simple cold, as confirmed by a negative test for the other thing and a doctor’s visit. It includes a lovely, phlegmy cough. We’re in a mask mandate for the entire state, with most businesses requiring masks, as well. Basically, wearing a mask is a habit for everyone at this point. I stop for gas before work and decide to surprise my office with some of this particular chain’s famous donuts.

Upon entering the gas station, I note several other people trying to go about their mornings, including one maskless man. I roll my eyes but mentally note to stay away from him. However, it’s not long before I also notice that he is purposefully getting into everyone’s personal space. He also has an energy about him that makes it clear he is looking for a fight, waiting for someone to say something to him about his lack of a mask.

I grab the donuts and get in line to check out. There are markings on the floor to keep people in line six feet apart, so I find myself standing next to the coffee and cappuccino machines. It is at this moment that the maskless gentleman decides he absolutely needs a coffee, and the only one that will do is from the machine directly next to me. It is also at this moment that I feel a slight tickle in my throat. Just as he’s reaching past me, I cough as loudly and dramatically as possible.

The look on his face is absolutely priceless as he scurries out of the gas station and back to his car. I let those around me know it is a confirmed simple cold, played up for dramatic effect, and we are all able to finish our business at the gas station in peace.

Related:
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 19
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 18
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 17
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 16
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 15

My daughter is working her first job in a local small company. I know she doesn’t enjoy it that much — mainly due to the idiot owner — but she recognises that the experience she is getting — partly because the idiot owner refuses to pay for experienced staff — will be so valuable in the future.

Then, the health crisis hits, and it eventually gets to the point that company can open under conditions. Of course, the owner doesn’t believe in the health crisis. No measures are in place and he refuses to make one exception.

Daughter: “Dad, I hate it there. I feel scared to go to work.”

Me: “Quit, then. We can support you while you look for work.”

Daughter: “But nowhere is hiring and I don’t want that on my CV.”

Me: “So, blow the whistle on him. He doesn’t care about his staff. Don’t care about him!”

So, we wrote a letter, one to the owner and one to the authorities, stating the reason why she would not be returning to work and listing what requirements he was ignoring. I figured the worse case was if she was fired and had to find a better job.

As it happened, the owner tried to call and then emailed demanding a meeting. But someone got to him first; the whole company was suddenly put on furlough and the owner was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn’t long until the company opened again and instead of the owner, his father was in charge. Apparently, he had let his son run this as his first big venture, and he quickly took back over putting things right.

My daughter stayed there a while longer. When she left, the owner’s father thanked her personally for writing the letter and said he would never have known how badly the company was doing.

I visited my parents for Thanksgiving recently. My mom has relatively recently gotten big into extreme conservative websites, as in the sites that complain that Fox News is way too liberal. I’ve seen a lot of silly changes as a result of this, but out of all of them, my biggest complaint is her refusal to get the vaccine despite the family all telling her it’s safer and my father complaining they can’t go on any vacations because she isn’t allowed to travel.

Mom: “I heard the vaccine hijacks your body to produce spike proteins.”

Me: “Well, it does teach your body to make spike proteins. That’s what teaches your body to fight the disease; it’s literally the vaccine’s job.”

Mom: “But it hijacks your body. Your body is so busy making spike proteins that it doesn’t protect against other diseases.

Me: “The spike proteins should only be generated for a few weeks. After that, the vaccine gets flushed out of your system, and without it, the proteins would stop being made. Besides, your body is making thousands of proteins every day; one more protein — and one made in very small quantities since it’s only created where the vaccine is present to trigger it — is chump change compared to all the proteins your body already produces. It shouldn’t stress the body, and the immune system is otherwise pretty independent from the protein production process, anyway.”

Mom: “That’s not what the sites I read said.”

Me: “No offense, Mom, but I don’t really trust the sites you read. You’re going to sites that people only visit if they want to hear that there is a problem with the vaccine, so those sites will tell you there is a problem whether or not there is one. It’s a kind of blatant conflict of interest. I only trust actual studies and scientific research.

Mom: “But they did that once. There was this doctor who had a patient who was getting treatment for something else anyway and was planning to get the vaccine, so the doctor suggested they do a study. They tested him before and after he got the vaccine, and afterward, his numbers were all down.”

Me: “What numbers?”

Mom: “The other spike proteins.”

Me: “Spike proteins are a [disease] vaccine thing. We don’t really call the other proteins your body makes ‘spike proteins’.”

Mom: “Whatever they were, the other proteins were lower.”

Me: “Okay, so, first of all, I doubt this supposed doctor actually published any paper on it, so we don’t have any proof he even exists. Like I said, you’re going to sites with an agenda, so it’s hard to trust they are publishing honest news. But even if this doctor did exist, and it was so easy to test protein production, it still wouldn’t mean anything. That was one guy without any kind of control; it’s purely anecdotal evidence. Maybe the guy had extra stress that week, or was injured, or didn’t eat well, or any one of a number of other things that could affect protein production other than the vaccine. There is no way to prove this one guy, if he even exists, had a drop due to the vaccine and not some other reason. That’s why proper studies need a large number of people and controls.

Mom: “Well, it’s still something. What do you have to prove that it doesn’t happen?”

Me: “A multitude of studies done by numerous independent sources.”

Mom: “What studies?”

Me: “They had to do a ton of studies before releasing the vaccine. Yes, I know it’s still technically an emergency authorization, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t do any studies at all. They’ve done numerous studies with literally hundreds of thousands of people involved. How do you think we know the success rate of the three vaccines? They gave a ton of people the vaccine and then saw how many got sick and how many were fine, and they compared that to a control because proper studies have controls! Why do you think it took longer for teens and then kids to be authorized for the vaccine? Because they had to do additional studies focused on those ages to make sure it was safe for them. If it was as easy to detect a body being ‘hijacked’ as you say, then don’t you think they would have noticed it when they vaccinated hundreds of thousands of people and watched them afterward to see what happened? There are numerous independent studies from many different countries, so you can’t say it’s just one group trying to keep things a secret or anything; it would have to be a worldwide conspiracy.”

My mom just sort of quieted down at this point. She didn’t say anything for a bit, and soon, we were able to change the subject. I can only assume she realized she didn’t have much room to argue with me on the subject.

I can only hope that between my dad and me, we might eventually convince her to trust the vaccine. She is in her late seventies and not taking any precautions about the crisis. She wanted to invite my sister and her family, who had just been exposed to the illness, to our house last holiday and was only convinced it was a bad idea when I pointed out that if they did that, I’d either have to leave or wouldn’t be allowed to go into work for two weeks afterward. I really am a little worried for her safety.

I work in a very large hospital at one of the entrances, asking visitors and patients the health crisis screening questions and ensuring they are allowed to come inside. I have this interaction with a kind gentleman.

Visitor: “Hi, I have an appointment to visit [Patient] at 3:00 today.”

Me: “Okay, great! Let me call up to the unit to confirm.”

I call, and a staff member responds.

Me: “Hi there. I’m one of the screeners from [entrance], and I just have [Visitor] here to visit [Patient].

Staff Member: “Oh…” *Sighs* “Okay, well, he is lucky, because there’s only one person up here right now, but please tell him that he needs to make an appointment next time he wants to come.”

Me: “He does have an appointment, actually! He just told me he is booked in for 3:00 today.”

Staff: *Pauses* “Please hold.”

After being put on hold for a few minutes, they return to the phone.

Staff: “Okay, so, it’s all right if he comes up, but please educate the visitor that he needs to make an appointment next time he wants to come.”

Me: “Yes, but he already did make an appointment.”

Staff: *Pauses* “Thank you!”

Me: *To the visitor* “I am sorry about that, sir! I’m not sure what is going on up there.”

Visitor: “No problem. I’ve been here every single day for the last two weeks, and I always make an appointment for the next day when I leave.”

As much as I was annoyed, I also understand the extreme amounts of stress — putting it lightly — that healthcare workers are currently under. It’s not an easy time for anyone right now, and a little patience and understanding will go a long way.