It was strangely emotional on the morning I got my first vaccine shot.
A couple of weeks ago one of my high school teammates at Lynn English High School died unexpectedly from COVID-19 in a far-away country. I was sitting in the clinic thinking about him when I looked over to see a nurse getting ready to vaccinate me. I stared at the needle and then all of the sudden time stopped. In that instant, my mind started racing.
I started thinking about all the loss and heartache of the past year: people losing businesses they spent their whole lives building; people struggling to get by without jobs; lives put on hold; dreams put on hold; all the loved ones you didn’t see; all the parties that never were; all the things you couldn’t do; the absolute uncertainty of it all. The endless hours of isolation. All the time that just evaporated. And all because of something you can’t even see.
And then there is this little needle aimed at my arm, filled with all our knowledge: brilliant minds, kids who were educated here, grew up here, the people you played Little League with, the kids people made fun of in high school because they were in the science lab after school. Hours upon hours of study, sacrifice, research. All we know and have learned in a three-inch syringe. The sum total of our scientific achievements against the worst nature can deliver.
I started thinking about my friend again. What would he say? I played on a football team with him. He was a guard; he never got any glory, just did his job. He joined the Marines. Same thing. He believed in unselfish service. I talked with him about two years ago and the last thing he said to me, even though I wasn’t a Marine, was “Semper Fi.” Those were the words he lived by.
He understood what it meant to be part of a team. And that on a true team you never let anything divide you, because your purpose is true and just. We need to use these moments to reaffirm that — that we are one.
President Trump and the scientists pulled off a miracle getting this vaccine done in record time and President Biden and his administration are doing a great job rolling it out. It has been a true team effort. It’s what we do. It’s our strength. Especially when the heat is on.
In the end, against all reason, this terrible virus hasn’t destroyed us; it has united us. And heroes have been made in silence. Everybody knows one. I am fortunate to know many.
As I was sitting in the clinic afterward, looking around at all these people of different backgrounds, people I didn’t know but who had also just been vaccinated, I had one thought: Today is one of those days that I’m proud to be an American, because in the face of our darkest days, no matter what the challenge, we always pull together and press on to prevail.
Semper Fi, George Etheridge!
Frank Ciota grew up in Lynn, graduated from Harvard University, and has directed award-winning films in both the United States and Italy.
