Yesterday the kids and I went down to the public health department to get the first round of H1N1 vaccines for the boys. Last year we got the standard flu vax at the pediatrician's office but were informed that while they recommended the H1N1 vaccine they had decided NOT to administer it in their office. Given the absolute crush of kids and paperwork nightmare of flu vax this year compared to last year, I could hardly blame them.
This town is swimming in H1N1 vaccine--for older children and adults. The only place to get an H1N1 vaccine for those 9 years old and under was the public health clinic in the WIC building. So I just didn't get it. I feared a long wait in the crowded waiting rooms full of sick poor people like the ones we saw each day at Texas Children's Hospital ER when Jack was in the hospital after his birth. I worried about our safety driving to the part of Beaumont where the clinic was, would our car be safe? Most of all I just didn't want to be among the poor. I'm not proud of these thoughts, mind you, I'm just being honest.
But last week HHS Secretary Sebelieus made the case on Morning Joe that a third round of swine flu would probably hit this spring and be more intense than the past two waves this year. So I called 311, got what information I could which was not much and made plans to head down to the clinic--sans appointment and with no guarantee that there would be vaccine there when we arrived.
Well that drive down Washington Avenue was eye opening and I was filled with conflicting emotions. It is so easy to forget how much poverty there is here in Beaumont. This wasn't squalor but the working poor, there were lots of small mom-and-pop business along the street with rusty awnings and patched roofs still left from Rita I imagine. I saw the liquor store with the "We Cash Paychecks" sign in the window knowing that it was owned by one of Beaumont's most renowned and generous philanthropists. I saw several offices for the landscaping companies that often work in our neighborhood on the West End. I've often complained that there are no good ethnic restaurants here in Beaumont--you have to go to Houston for that. Imagine my surprise at several small plate lunch restaurants and ethnic grocery stores.
When we got to the Public Health building, the parking lot was spacious and lined by gorgeous oak trees. Inside the buildings were clean and simple. There were no magazines in the waiting area but the walls were lined with nice posters. There was only one other family there when we arrived. After a simple check in and a relatively short wait, a kind nurse gave Xavier and Jack their shots and me instructions to bring them back for round two in a month. All in all the experience in the clinic was the same or BETTER than that at the pediatrician's. Shorter wait, streamlined paperwork, and plain band-aids instead of ones with characters on them.
On the drive home I had to admit to myself that my prejudice alone had kept me from getting the boys these shots sooner. I've been thinking a lot lately about the poor and poverty. That's what happens when you read a book entitled Happy Are You Poor I suppose.
I think a few years ago I probably would have said that I have most of the things I need and some of the things I want. This days I say I have everything I need and most of what I want. This trip however made me suspect that I have more than I need. I don't know what to do with that thought.
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