We got our second jabs at the pharmacy instead of joining the long queues at Townsend Park the other weekend, and we’re now happy that we’ve done all we can to protect ourselves from the corona.
Of course, the sceptics say wait for the third and fourth jabs, they’re coming, but that’s no reason to live in a constant state of, I don’t know, fear.
The chance of more jabs is not out of the question.
We’ve seen a couple of variations of the virus already and who’s to say there won’t be more?
According to Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, the South African-American transplant surgeon, billionaire businessman and bioscientist, future variations are quite possible.
I see many ‘I told you so’ claims that people have contracted the virus after receiving the jab.
Well, that has been clear for a while. I know we can still get corona, but the chances of severe illness are likely to be reduced.
Life’s all about percentages – there are few certainties beyond death and taxes.
There are a hundred reasons that can be dreamed up to not take precautions, as in the case of vaccinations, but I think it’s safer to play the percentages.
Statistically, people who are vaccinated against a particular disease stand a better chance than those who haven’t.
It’s not a guarantee, it’s just improved odds.
Speaking of drugs, as teenagers we were warned of the dire consequences of taking drugs.
Which of course led to a little experimentation with mountain cabbage, like a moth to a candle flame.
But I never took another drug for kicks after a conversation I had with an elderly Afghan gentleman.
We were sitting on top of a bus, as one did in Afghanistan in the 70s, because inside was crammed with women, children and even goats, travelling between Kabul and a remote place called Band-i-Amir, where there are the most beautiful, turquoise blue lakes high in the mountains.
A couple of German boys were smoking hashish, giggling and horsing about, and I asked the man next to me what he thought of what they were doing.
He replied, with the steely gaze that mountain men in that part of the world have, “It’s for children.”
Why do you say that, I asked?
He replied, “Grow up and learn to deal with life. Don’t hide from unpleasantness or do things without reason.”
And with that he wrapped his turban around his mouth and said nothing for the rest of the journey.
Looking back, I can’t put my finger on why it made such an impression on me.
Maybe it was the surroundings, the withering harshness of the Hindu Kush, the obviously hard lives that many would want to escape from.
But I decided that toying with the unknown was a dangerous game.
Now that I’m 70, I keep the drug industry on its feet!
My doctor actively encourages me to take this pill for my heart, that pill for my cholesterol, another for stress. He’s my pusher!
Maybe doctors and modern medicines are also responsible for altering reality.
By rights, without all those pills and an op here and there, I would have been pushing up daises long ago. It’s a sobering thought.
For breaking news follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
