The Magical Bubble

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Our nearest neighbour is, of course, the State of Maine. On the Canada side of the border it’s Deer Island as represented by the town of Leonardville in the first image. They have the luxury of a Government ferry which runs every half hour, every day (and is fully subsidized so no fare, but I’m not bitter – much).

This level of marine service isn’t considered necessary for us (by the Powers That Be) because of our proximity to Maine and our ability to drive through that State to reach the rest of Canada.

The second image is of Back Bay on the New Brunswick mainland. These aren’t great shots but they do relate to my story today. 🙂

You may have heard that there is a global pandemic – denied by the truly moronic and a font of conspiracies to the intellectually challenged.

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On a side note, one of the recent fears of the fringe anti-vaxxers involves “shedding”. Somehow those who are vaccinated will affect anybody who gets close to them and alter menstrual cycles and fertility. No really! A woman I follow on Twitter got her second shot and drove 11 hours to see her daughter only to be refused at the door because she could affect the couple’s future ability to have children.

My question to them is “How exactly would that work?” I mean is it like gamma rays? Or dandruff?

Anyway, back to my story. So we follow the guidelines and have been truly lucky in terms of a very low incidence of Covid cases on the Island. Maine isn’t having the same experience unfortunately. The rules are that if we have to go to the mainland, and the Ferry isn’t an option (schedule, weather or timing) we go through Maine without stopping. Unless “shedding” by some miracle turns out to be real, there is no opportunity to get the virus on the highway.

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My naive self has finally realized that not all individuals/businesses/health care providers on the mainland understand our situation and the fact that we can’t catch Covid just by looking at a slice of America.

You may have called a Vet or a Dentist for an appointment. When you did the person answering the phone asked a few questions and then scheduled you for a visit. Well! My experience in the past few months has been somewhat different.

There is a code they use which took me a while to decipher. One example would be when I called a Vet’s office in St. Stephen to take Fish in (he decided to grown an extra tooth). Instead of an appointment she said she would talk to the Doctor and get back to me. She never did. I had the same experience when I called to arrange for replacement glasses. “I’ll talk to the Doctor”.

What they’re saying is that, because I’m on Campobello, they don’t want me.

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This situation is much more problematic for people who need some medical services which aren’t available on the Island. Critical cases are OK, but there’s quarantine required first in some instances. For many, however, the services are not accessible.

The local clinic Doctor, Nurse-Practitioner, Nurses have all contacted the Health Zone and the Government about this issue and have received assurances that we can’t be denied because of our location. Still, I learned the other day that a patient wasn’t going to get an appointment with a specialist because we “drive through Maine”.

The latest joke going around the Island has to to with the famous Atlantic Bubble. When all 4 Provinces have things under control they allow free movement between them. People here want to know, the next time it’s in effect, whether Campobello will be allowed to join. I think Fish is going to have an extra tooth for a long time.

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