Two Things
by Vincent Barry
Two things you
should know about me. My hero is Albert
Schweitzer and I once was a seminarian. Not that
I’m thinking about either at the time. I
just say, “Look at this,” and hand it
to her long fine unringed hand. “Whassat?”
she goes, unmasked. “That” is a news
item I’ve brought with me to this yet still
another of these yearslong monthly concierge
appointments. “‘It's Too Late': Doctor
Says People Begging For COVID Vaccine Before
Being Intubated.” I think it will help—
convert her, so to say. It’s about a doctor
in Alabama describing on Facebook how she has to
inform unvaccinated COVID-19 patients begging for
the vaccine that it’s too late before she
intubates. An uneasy silence. Some pauses.Then,
“So?,” and she goes on snipping and
clicking, then clacking, because she wears heels,
y’see, and must circumnavigate to operate to
consummate. Meanwhile, I say nothing—using,
y know, silence to facilitate reflection?
encourage responsibility? convey interest and
empathy? . . . And, voila, two things I should
know about me. Once a seminarian, always a
seminarian, and Supercuts will blend the gray
away.
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