<< not shot. dog bite. woof woof. not bang-bang. >>

this morning i woke up and said, i would just _love to get a tetanus shot today.

here in turkey you can get pre-packaged tetanus shots over the counter. so the campground owners sent someone into town to get one for me on account of yesterday's canine mishap. it arrived in a little lunchbox cooler packed with ice.

attila, the horse-keeper, would do it. twenty or so times per year he has to administer a shot like this, mostly for scorpion and spider bites (ick). the price tag read 6,97 YTL -- about $7.

lockjaw, right on. i dislike needles. and something about getting a needle at a campground just didn't jive. they said they'd take me in to a clinic if it made me feel better. but in the end i just bit the bullet and had them do it, so i wouldn't have to wait so nervous at a doctor's office or in the examination room in a hospital that smelled of bleach.

i sat down as attila shook the needle vigourously. he offered me a cigarette like i was about to be hanged. latex gloves and orange antiseptic on a cotton swab. i averted my eyes. he injected me left-handed.

now i am set for burning man, where exposed rebar (used as tent pegs to anchor structures into the rockhard desert floor) is a real danger.

i am strong! i faced fear. it was a tiny needle. i didn't hardly feel it.