I had gotten up from my barber’s chair and was headed for the door. The talk had been about vaccines, where to get it, how to put yourself on the list. As I opened the door a seated man, about 60,  looked up at me and announced he might not get a Covid vaccination.

     “Why?

     “I’m not sure. My wife isn’t sure.”

     “Be sure! Get it!”

     “I don’t know. Maybe.”

     “My son is a Covid researcher at the University of Colorado. He told me to get it, take what’s available. And I did.”

     “Yeah, maybe.”

     “Maybe? What do you do?”

     “I’m a doorman.”

     “A doorman! A big building?”

     “Very big, more than 200 tenants.”

     “Get the shot. Call today. Today.”

     “I’ll talk to my wife.”

     “Good. At least, you won’t be swallowing bleach.”

     “You know, there are two sides to everything. That might’ve worked.”

     “No.”

     “You never can tell. Biden might be okay, maybe not. There are too many foreigners and liberals.”

     “Liberals?”

     “Yeah, they don’t care. They all make six figures.”

     “You’re talking to a liberal, a liberal who doesn’t make six figures.

     “Oh. Well, I guess, when it comes down to it, all we really can do is pray.”

     “You’re talking to an atheist.”

     “Oh. Well, I’ll still pray for you. When all else fails and the end comes, all we can say is, ‘Jesus, please save us.’”

     “ I won’t be. I’m a Jew.”

     “Oh. A Jew.”

     I urged him again to get vaccinated and walked into a gorgeous-to-die-for New York morning.