.172 the staff at Callen Lorde

When I walked into the Callen Lorde lobby yesterday, I was feeling a mixture of emotions. Nervous, emotional, and a bit of disbelief, to name a few. However, all of those feelings disappeared as soon as I was greeted by the staff member at the front. Even with one of those temperature gun machines, she was kind, patient and made me feel relaxed. The gentleman behind the window, too, was helpful and completely present and focused.

Not even 5 minutes later, I was called back to get my vaccine. My injector was named Henry, and he was incredibly compassionate and clear as he walked me through what was going to happen and any questions that I had. Nowadays, I feel like masks can make it hard to pick up on small social cues and smiles, but I could feel the kindness from Henry so easily. 20 minutes and a small prick in the shoulder later, I was out the door, but not after another sweet moment of light chatter with the woman at the front. All together, I was there for around half an hour. Everything was smooth, reassuring, taken seriously, and washed over with a coat of unassuming empathy.

To the staff at Callen Lorde (at all locations, but especially the Bronx!), thank you. Thank you very much for being on the frontlines of such a scary, insurmountable pandemic and time in this world. Thank you for doing what you do every single day and for doing it with such attention to detail and comfort. Thank you for making a thrilling moment in my life feel, well, so very normal in the best of ways. Thank you all for being you.

-BD