One More Jab

We had our latest C-boosters last week. I’ve lot track of the number that we’re at, but I will continue to follow the best science available, which is that seniors should stay up to date with the shots.

A few short years ago, the first rounds of shots were massive undertakings involving distancing, masking and long lines. This one was not much more a drop-in at the pharmacy. We were unmasked and on our own, and we occupied the only two chairs in the waiting area although Sue's chair was sometimes empty as she wandered about surveying the nearby shelves.

We were soon ushered into a little room to receive our boosters. Sue asked the friendly pharmacist about his delightful accent, and he was happy to tell us that he was from Nigeria. I think he said that he came to Canada four years ago, and I know that he said that he ended up in Thompson, Manitoba.

What a shock for the lad, going from a tropical climate to a subarctic one and from a heavily populated country to a isolated community of 15000 on the Canadian Shield.

Thompson, Manitoba experiences a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with long, very cold winters and short, warm summers. The average monthly temperature ranges from -23.4°C in January to 16.2°C in July. Most of the annual precipitation, which totals 521.5mm, falls between June and September. Snowfall mainly occurs from October to May and totals 180.3 cm per year. (Google AI Overview)

Thompson is a northern mining town. At 55°N, it is several hundred kilometres closer to Hudson Bay than it is to Winnipeg. Thompson is very isolated. If you want to see the famous polar bears in Churchill, for example, you can't drive from Thompson (or from anywhere for that matter) but would have to take the train or fly. I didn't think to ask him if he had done this, but he probably would have said.

He didn't stay in Manitoba for long and has now lived in comparatively balmy Eastern Ontario for three years.

He asked us to stay in the store for ten minutes after our shots, and we did, more or less anyway. We purchased two bags of lightly salted, Canadian-made popcorn by a company, or at least a brand, called Nosh. Our newfound avoidance of things American has been a boon to some Canadian companies.

Sorry folk, we really do love you but . . .