Last weekend I received my first vaccination shot.

I hadn’t had much luck getting an appointment. I seemed to miss every window. Not that I was anxious about it because I knew I’d get vaccinated eventually. Still, sooner would be better than later.

Saturday, I was out shopping for groceries. It was a little alarming because a guy was constantly coughing who always ended up in the same aisle as me. In the last, I don’t think it would have pinged my radar, but in a pandemic, it was a bit concerning.

While I was in line at the deli, my phone rang. It was a call from a pharmacy I had signed up for to be on their vaccination waitlist a few weeks earlier. They had some extra doses, and if I could make it to their pharmacy before closing, I could get my first shot. Could I make it? Most definitely.

I rushed to the register to be rung up. The woman at the register stopped and held up my cilantro and asked if it was regular cilantro or organic. I told her I had a vaccination appointment to get to and to charge whatever she wanted.

I got the hell out of the supermarket and made it to the Mercy Plaza Pharmacy. After filling out some paperwork, I got my shot. Didn’t feel a thing.

While I was waiting out my mandatory 15 minutes to see if there were any ill effects, the owner came by to check up on me. Hell of a nice guy. Turns out his pharmacy is independent and family-owned. He was proud of his teenage son for volunteering at the pharmacy during the pandemic. I was proud, too.

I had such a great time talking to the guy that weird as it may sound; I can’t wait for my next shot.