By Fred Steiner
Completing my civic duty, on Friday I had my second appointment with the Needle they call Moderna.­­­  

Was it lovelier the second time around? Emphatically yes.

Everyone could use a little needling now and then. Especially now.

And, everyone who gets the Needle should tell others to get it. That would make the world a better, safer place. So, I’m telling you about it.

Plus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today: “Fully vaccinated people can gather indoors without masks with other vaccinated people and small groups of unvaccinated people in some circumstances.”

For sure, the ether floats a handful of horror stories about bad reactions from Needle Number 2.

The barrage fired at me apparently missed. Aside from a couple Tylenol on Day 2 of Needle 2, I’ve yet to experience any negative reaction.

Believe me, I did some worrying about it in advance, however.

Like, what if I go home and suddenly start believing QAnon conspiracies, or become a Michigan football fan, or start shopping as Costco. Those were my Needle 2 nightmares. None happened.

As a precaution, I picked out a movie to watch Friday night, if the weather turned south. It didn’t. So, using today’s most worn-out phrase, I concluded that feeling normal is my new normal. (I detest that phrase, how about you?)

Let me describe my new - detestable (see above) - normal.  Any readers with seven decades of television ads in their memories, can remember a black and white Colgate with Gardol ad.

It’s where the guy knocks on an invisible shield, just as some stranger lobes a coconut at him.

I’m protected from that coconut called covid-19 and feel pretty damn good about it.

The Needle Number 2 episode, administered at Bluffton Hospital, took all of 45 minutes from walk in to walk out, just like Needle Number 1 in February.

Except for one thing: This time, that cloud over my head for the past 12 month wasn’t overhead when I looked up. Or, as the song goes, I’ve got my Moderna, who could ask for anything more?

Post script
Yesterday, I read about a self-proclaimed billionaire secretly vaccinated this winter. I think he missed an incredible opportunity to share his experience with the world.

Had he shared his experience it would be like a big needle stitching the country back together again. But, like I said earlier, everyone could use a good needling now and then.