Shimmy-On, Like Kate

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

The rain fell all day and night, it continues this morning. For a change, that’s okay, for I feel under the weather, and blame my stiff, sore body on the shingles vaccine that I received yesterday. That was a second dose and much worse than the first. The rain will be an appropriate background for me staying inside and dozing in front of the telly.

When I feel blah, I think about one of my favorite people, Kate Rockwell, who incidentally lived in Central Oregon. A brave go-getter, she made a fortune entertaining gold miners in Alaska’s early days–and her own early days (she was about 18). A love affair went wrong, and after losing lost all her savings to the charlatan, she drifted south to Oregon. Someday, I’ll write about Kate; meanwhile, on this, my down day, she’s a powerful role model.

Her courage will help me suffer through that annoying vaccine. Maybe the shot makes others feel poorly, too, and it’s expensive, not covered by insurance–maybe because it’s a prevention and not a cure. Developed in 2017, it replaces an earlier vaccine which many (including me) already had received. This new version is touted to be something like 65-percent more effective, and doctors recommend that we go for it.

The two required injections of the new shingles vaccine must be administered at least six months apart. I don’t recall even noticing the first dose, but could feel the second shot in about six hours from unexpected pain at my shoulder’s injection site. This morning, all my joints ache while I’m moving stiffly.

I tell myself that this bit of misery beats an attack of shingles, a painful blistering disease that often recurs. So, bring on the rain! I’ll be snuggling with a dog under a heated blanket, catching up with Netflix, and making plans to blog about Klondike Kate.

Dear Friends: This new vaccine isn’t as bad as coping with the disease. Diana