FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 18, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 47
Victoria’s
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
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I won the ‘lottery!’
When I told my friends
that I got my second
“shot,” I was so excited
that I felt as if I had won the
lottery!
During this crazy world we
are living in, everyone I know
only talks about two things: the
weather and the COVID-19
vaccine.
“Did you get yours yet?”
“Is it your fi rst or your second
shot?”
“Where did you get it? Why
there?”
“How did you get a date?”
Aft er I got my fi rst shot on
Jan. 15, I received a card which
had the Moderna number on
one side, and the date to return
for my second shot on the back.
I hadn’t taken the card too seriously
— in fact, I had left it in a
pile of papers.
I had no idea that card was
to be my passport to the world.
Fortunately, I had saved it!
I found it and returned to the
Bronx high school where I got
my fi rst shot and I assumed I was
to get my second shot.
While most of my friends who
had received their fi rst shot were
sent reminder, aft er reminder,
aft er reminder, I hadn’t received
any calls or emails to remind me
of my Feb. 12 appointment. I just
appeared on what I assumed was
my designated day. No one has
to remind me if I have a date!
While waiting in a short line
outside the school, a volunteer
came over to register me. I
learned that the kind man is a
teacher who is volunteering at
the center and is part of the 60
percent of the workers who are
volunteering.
He looked up my name and
said I was not
listed! But I didn’t panic because
I had my “magic” card with me.
On that card was written that I
had received my fi rst shot and
had a Feb. 12 appointment for
the second shot.
Aft er a long discussion with
the volunteer, who had been
searching frantically for my
name, I suggested he call a
supervisor. So, I waited in line,
shivering in the freezing cold. I
was without socks or especially
warm clothing as I went for
glamour instead, wearing a wrap
with a fur collar and cuff s. Th at
proved to be a poor choice, but
last time I waited only a minute
on line in the cold and thought
it would be the same this time.
Finally my volunteer brought
over a supervisor, who instantly
looked at my card and said
“make this woman a drop in.”
I asked if anyone can come for
a “drop in” and the woman,
dressed in snow boots and a
heavy jacket said “no,” telling me
that I was okay because I had to
proof that I already received the
fi rst shot.
Th e line outside the huge
school moved quickly once I was
considered “qualifi ed” to receive
the second shot. I never felt so
cozy aft er moving from the frigid
outdoors into the school’s
warm hallway.
Th e winding line through
the corridors leading to the
school’s cafeteria, now a makeshift
injection site, moved quickly.
Th e fastest was getting the
shot, which only took about two
seconds! Remarkable!
Th e nurse who injected me
with the vaccine gave me a piece
of paper with a time on it. I was
to wait 15 minutes in the gym
down the hallway to make sure
I didn’t have a bad reaction. I
waited and then handed in that
little piece of paper to prove I
had waited the allotted time for
“recovery” and then I was on my
way home.
My “magic” card that saved the day!
Everyone was given a number in
the carefully organized cafeteriaturned
vaccination room.
An icy Valentine’s Day celebration
Even though we are living in the middle of a
pandemic, I still wanted to see my grandchildren
to celebrate Valentine’s Day with
them. My daughter Elizabeth said fi ne, as long
as we remained outside, and I said “OK!”
Th e kids said they wanted Wendy’s for lunch,
so I stopped at the new drive-thru on Glen Cove
Road and ordered them their chicken nuggets
and French fries, just as they’d requested, and I
was off to see them.
As I drove up their block I saw 8-year-old
Addy shoveling the snow from her driveway.
She seemed so little next to the towering piles
of frozen snow!
I pulled into the driveway and they led me
to the backyard, where there were some chairs
amongst the snow that we could use.
Jonah had brought a blanket outside to keep
us warm, but I immediately knew it was too
thin to help keep away the 20-degree cold.
Fortunately, I keep an electric blanket in the car,
so we grabbed it and it came to my rescue!
Aft er 45 minutes of joy talking to the kids, I
realized I was turning into an icicle! My body
was frozen, but my heart was as warm as toast
for having seen them.
Here’s to warmer days ahead!
Driving down Th ird Avenue
to get to the parkway, I saw it
was a busy commercial strip.
It was my fi rst time in that
neighborhood.
Our Bronx offi ce is located in
the thriving Th roggs Neck area
and I’ve been to Riverdale, which
is in the northern part of the
borough, many times.
My grandkids played football
for Dalton and I watched them
play at Riverdale’s Horace Mann.
I can never forget the winding
hilly streets fi lled with charming,
huge, Tudor-style homes.
But the high school where I
had my vaccinations was in a
new neighborhood for me. I
was happy to see thriving stores
on Th ird Avenue, despite the
hardships of the pandemic. I’ve
always believed that when you
have a healthy business strip, you
have a healthy community, and
Th ird Avenue is obviously doing
well!
I’m pleased to report that I
had no reaction to the vaccine. I
felt a little tired that evening, but
pushed myself and went out for
dinner. And that was that.
But I will keep my “magic”
card safe and will protect its contents
like it’s a diamond to be
cherished!
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