An unforgettable forgettable day
John Norberg s

The other evening my wife made appointments for us to get our Moderna booster shots. I promptly forgot about it.

Wife: "How could you forget this. Our appointments are today at the Payless Pharmacy in Lafayette, the one near the Mall. We'll have to drive separately because I have other things to do."
Me: "Got it. Thanks."
Wife: "Are you sure you have it? Did you hear me? Are you wearing your hearing aids?"
Me: "I'm not a confused old man. I hear just fine. Payless Pharmacy."
Wife: "The one in Lafayette by the Mall."

My wife left and a short time later I left to meet her and drove straight to Payless in West Lafayette. When I got there, I went to the pharmacy window and gave my name.

Me: "I have an appointment here."
Pharmacist: "I'm sorry. We don't have an appointment for you."
Me: "My wife made it. She's here too."
Pharmacist: "I'm sorry sir she isn't here. Are you sure you weren't supposed to go to a different Payless? This is Payless West Lafayette. Wait, I can see on our computer that you and your wife actually have appointments at Payless in Lafayette near the Mall."
Me: "Oh yeah. Well, can you give me the shot?"
Pharmacist: "Yes sir, we'll take care of you. And I've been in touch with Payless by the Mall. I told them you are here instead of there. And they said they'd tell your wife who is waiting for you there. Please have a seat."

I can't be certain of it. But I swear I heard the pharmacist tell the technician giving the shots, "We've got a confused old man here who doesn't know where he is. But he needs a booster. Give it to him quickly and send him on his way back to his wife, if she'll take him."
The booster went fine. I handled this the way I always do when I get a shot. I turned my head in the other direction and screamed.

Me: "When are you going to do it?"
Technician: "I'm already done. I just put on the band-aid."
Me: "Will this shot do anything to improve my short-term memory?"

I don't remember if she answered.
I drove home. My wife was waiting for me.

Wife: "How did you go to the wrong pharmacy? We discussed this several times. You said you understood."
Me: "I don't know. The good news is, while I forgot which pharmacy had my appointment, I got the booster and I remembered to bring my vaccination card, so I didn't forget everything."

Actually, after leaving for the pharmacy I remembered I had left my cell phone at home and when I went back to get it, I discovered I had also forgotten my vaccination card. They were together on the kitchen counter so I wouldn't forget them.
I guess I forgot to tell that part of the story to my wife. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
So --all's well that ends well.
The morning after the booster my arm was a little sore. But that went away quickly.
The only other thing I noticed was that I woke up the next morning with the song "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" running through my head, again and again. And I couldn't get rid of it for two days.
I Googled this and didn't find any mention of "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" as a side effect to the booster.
But it happened to me. So, there you have it.
If any of you have a similar experience, let me know.
We'll sing a duet.