No Freaking Thanks

Chapter 14

Tuesday, November 15, 2022; outside of New London, Connecticut, U.S.A.

Chapter XVI

"...and if you are looking forward to a holiday getaway, you can book a trip on a cruise—"

"Haha—no!" Jared turned off the radio as he parked in the employees' parking lot. His smartphone began ringing and he picked it up to have an unknown caller on the other end.

"NFTs are the evolution of the art indust—"

Jared furiously hung up and yelled, "Won't these NFT-riding cucks go outside and touch GRASS...for ONCE?!? Fuck!" He then heard some knocking on the window.

It was Sonya, holding some breakfast on a biodegradable paper plate. "There is some breakfast being served in the food court if you are interested."

After having a fruit salad and hashbrowns along with almond milk, Jared strolled his way down to the art studio to set up the canvases, art supplies, and a snack table with a water dispenser and cups. He was feeling slightly stressed with a small amount of sweat flowing down from his scalp, so he turned on some Bon Jovi and placed a necklace with a bespectacled cephalopod around his neck. Joy made that item as a birthday gift with some help from her artistic friend Natalie.

The last time Jared met the Toronto lady, she was dressed in a white T-shirt and denim overalls covered by a paint-splattered apron. Some of the works in the Slovakia household such as the sheep pasture and a doll sitting below the only spotlight were done by Natalie. The figures she painted are depicted in their sheered or bald states because her mother was going through chemotherapy. Thankfully, the latter defeated her breast cancer despite having to do it during a global pandemic.

Speaking of the pandemic, Terry and company implemented a mandate on vaccinations AND/OR negative tests in the park because they do not want the virus attacking everyone inside. Simple as that. No reason to bring the Constitution—written in cursive or converted into a webpage/PDF—into the discussion on basic health regulations. It is not just getting an education that lets you know what a vaccine does; there have been examples in entertainment providing that significance. Dolly Parton once sang a song about the coronavirus vaccine while getting one as part of a public service announcement (PSA) (Ellis, 2021). Amnesia: The Dark Descent requires the player to head down to the morgue and get injected with a dead person's vaccinated blood to progress through the otherwise toxic sewers (Grip & Nilsson, 2010). Family Guy's "Hot Shots" episode, while referencing measles, depicts the consequences of not getting vaccinated—in a satirical perspective (Goodman & Holmquist, 2016). The show's official YouTube channel (2021) eventually posted a PSA about getting vaccinated against the coronavirus and its variants.

But how do vaccines work? Each one is a substance "that is used to stimulate the body's immune response against diseases" (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.). Terry and company made analogies to the basics of getting vaccinations: Terry's take was about a child [immune system] defeating a video game boss [infectious disease] with the help of their older sibling [vaccine], Vince's involved doing boot camp while in the military, and Sonya sees superheroes as the vaccinations of the public. Joy and Jared did not have to make one. What about the Arndis? Brandon made his own analogy with Rocky IV starring Sylvester Stallone. However, the unfortunate part about getting vaccinated is that some people are a bit too hesitant about it, which is why Terry and company took action to stop the spread of the virus. Not only that; security was added to ensure that no vaccination card per person is forged. It may sound like a dystopia, but everyone is already in one—a boring dystopia for that matter.