How could I have forgotten to post this?

 

Overcoming

Today is the day we honor the memory of Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr. He was actually born on the 15^th of January in 1929, but like a number of other United States holidays that have been shifted to Mondays, the annual celebration is observed on the 3^rd Monday of January each year. This shift followed the enactment of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act (28 June 1968), which permanently moved Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, and Labor Day to Mondays and made Columbus Day (also permanently on a Monday) a federal holiday. The day to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis on April 4^th, 1968. The holiday was first signed into law in 1983, and first observed in 1986. Following resistance in some states, it was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000. Sadly, this year, the focus on this holiday has been eclipsed by so many current events, but it is still worth taking just a moment to recognize the accomplishments of this man whose life was taken far too soon – before he even reached his 40^th birthday.

I wanted to take a moment to recognize Dr. King because I admit I have been a bit obsessed with the trials and tribulations of the rollout of the COVID vaccine. Since the announcements of last week, I had been puzzled by the fact that my appointments for the two doses of the Coronavirus vaccine had not been deleted from my patient portal at Mount Sinai Hospital. Yesterday I received the following e-mail:

 

 

 

Mount Sinai Vaccine Appointment

 

You are receiving this email because you are scheduled for a vaccine appointment at Mount Sinai. We are writing to alert you that the supply of COVID-19 vaccines has been changing and that we have had to cancel some patient appointments for vaccination. We are keeping your appointment on the schedule at this time, and will confirm it with you 24 to 48 hours in advance, when we have confirmed the vaccine supply. Please do not call the hospital or your doctor’s office about COVID-19 vaccination at this time.   For more information, please visit our website. It may also be in your best interest to find other vaccination options through the New York State and  New York City COVID-19 vaccine sites. If you are able to make an appointment that way, please cancel your Mount Sinai appointment using MyChart or Zocdoc.   Please note that New York State is now requiring proof of residency or employment in the state in order to be vaccinated. For more details on the document requirements, click here. If you are not eligible for vaccination in New York State, please cancel your appointment with us as we are required to follow these rules.    We are disappointed that supply fluctuations have made the vaccination process so uncertain. We know how important it is to you to be vaccinated. We are committed to providing this important service to you as soon as we possibly can.

 

Taking the suggestion that “it may also be in your best interest to find other vaccination options through the  New York City COVID-19 vaccine site” to heart, I thought I would try looking at local availability of vaccines. The one closest to us is at Montefiore Marble Hill Family Practice. After asking for basic demographic information, they ask a question about “occupation.” The final category is “age 75 and over.” Clearly, they have not updated the site, since the “senior” category is now 65 and over. So, I told a little white lie and checked that box. Then I hit “Submit” and quickly saw:

 

 The maximum number of people have already responded to this form.

 

Next, I tried the second suggestion on the list, a local Rite Aid store. Although it said that my wait time would be 17 minutes, it also said:

 

There are currently no appointments available. Please check back tomorrow as we continue to add availability.

Given this situation, it should come as no surprise that fake vaccines are now becoming increasingly available over the internet. This video from the Wall Street Journal is important and frightening.

Fake COVID-19 Vaccines

So, meanwhile I am waiting as patiently as I can. What more can we do? I just hope we will do a better job of overcoming racial strife than we have done managing the COVID pandemic.

Love,                                                           

Rebecca

 

(Unhappily) waiting my turn

A few days ago, I wrote with great excitement that I was scheduled to receive the COVID vaccine early next week. Then a couple of days ago we got wind that Mount Sinai was experiencing a shortage of vaccine, but anticipated receiving additional doses early next week. In response to this news, I rescheduled my appointment a week after the original.

Unfortunately, I just heard from Mount Sinai a little while ago informing me that they are cancelling all future appointments because they do not know when they will receive additional vaccine.

This pretty much explains how I am feeling right now.

As I said at the end of my last post, if you are able to be vaccinated, I do urge you to do so.  Meanwhile, continue to be vigilant and stay safe. That looks like all I can do for now.

Love,                                                           

Rebecca

My shot

 

Over the last few weeks, some of us New Yorkers who have not quite reached the age of 75 have been bemoaning the fact that the COVID-19 vaccine was only available to New York residents who are 75 and over. This morning, it was announced that the vaccine will now be made available to those 65 and over. Mount Sinai opened up a large number of appointments and Gd willing I will be receiving my first dose next Sunday.

All this talk of shots made me start thinking about working on a parody of the song from Hamilton, “My Shot.” Not surprisingly, it turns out that some others have beat me to it. 

The first is not specifically about Coronavirus, in fact it was originally done back in 2017. But it is still really terrific.

The second features a group of medical staff at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, Tennessee.

Hamilton "My Shot"

It's time to take a shot
Rise up, rise up
It's time to take a shot
Rise up, it's time to take a shot
Rise up, take a shot, shot, shot
It's time to take a shot, time to take a shot
And I am not throwin' away my
Not throwin' away my shot

If you are able to be vaccinated, I do urge you to do so.  Meanwhile, continue to be vigilant and stay safe.

Love,                                                           

Rebecca

Moving words from a surprising source

I just came across this video posted by Letty Cottin Pogrebin, noted Jewish feminist and author, and feel compelled to share it with you.

To be honest, I have never been a particular fan of film star and former California Governor (2003-2011) Arnold Schwarzenegger. The only one of his movies I have ever seen is Kindergarten Cop (1990). His personal life was much in the news, including his divorce following almost thirty years of marriage to Maria Shriver, with the sordid details including his having fathered a child with a housekeeper some years earlier.

All of that aside, I do have to say that he speaks quite eloquently here, and I thought it was worth sharing.

Meanwhile, stay safe and well.

Love,                                                           

Rebecca

 

A troubling beginning

 

This is my first post for this new year of 2021. Things had been pretty quiet. On Monday I had a cystoscopy that was, thank Gd, negative. Throughout Tuesday we watched the election returns from the two senate races in Georgia. I had been fairly skeptical about the chances for the two Democratic candidates, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, so the results were something of a surprise to me.

But then came Wednesday. Nothing I could possibly write would even begin to capture the fear and pain of January 6, 2021, a date which will likely remain burned in our brains as surely as November 22, 1963 (the assassination of President John F. Kennedy) and September 11, 2001. Those of us who were alive will forever remember where we were and how we heard the news of those events. In 1963 I was a student in the sixth grade at Grandview Elementary School in the suburbs of St. Louis. Our teacher came in and tearfully told us the news. And in 2001 I was in my office at Pfizer when my assistant came in and shared the news that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center building.

We were, needless to say, glued to the television once we heard the news yesterday. At 4:27 pm, Dina, who knows us so well, texted to us:

 

I assume you guys are glued to the TV and reading time should be cancelled today. 

Barry responded:

 

Even an attempted coup can’t stop reading time!

So, we did have reading time, taking turns reading a few chapters of Julia’s current favorite book, Ariel, The Shimmering Star Necklace, and watching the ongoing developments.

In the wee hours of the night, the election of our next president and vice president was completed, and the inauguration is scheduled for Wednesday, January 20^th. That is at least two more weeks to be extremely nervous. 

Meanwhile, stay healthy!

Love,                                                           

Rebecca

Ready to move on

The journalist and author Lisa Belkin, whom I wish I could claim as a relative, posted the following on Facebook (emphasis mine):

No, everything won’t be better with the turn of a calendar page. (As one cheeky friend points out, next year is 2020 Won, and the year after that will be 2020 Too.)

This particular New Year’s Eve marks the 40^th anniversary of Dan Fogelberg’s song, “Same Auld Lang Syne,” which told a tale of a Christmas visit to his home town of Peoria, Illinois five years earlier. Appropriate for the times remembered, my friend Suzanne sent along a hard copy of this article published in The Chicago Tribune on December 20^th.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-dan-fogelberg-same-old-lang-syne-20201217-rzel3crk5rgwrb3jmp4x3cmrye-story.html 

Suzanne and her husband and young daughter arrived in Dallas on the same day as we did back in 1980. We initially met in (where else?) the grocery store looking for kosher cottage cheese (now a commonly available item but much less so back then). If I were more talented, perhaps I could write a song about meeting her in a grocery store.

Starting tomorrow, writing the incorrect dates on checks will be the least of our problems. We still have a long way to go, but I want to believe that this new year will bring better things for all of us.

Happy New Year!

Love,                                                           

Rebecca