Located in the Lyons Mall, this was my regular drugstore back in the days when it was Rite-Aid. Way back then, I wrote a Yelp review as it was making the transition to Walgreens, and expressing some trepidation regarding that transition. With the benefit of hindsight, I was worrying needlessly; nothing much has changed. The store is smaller than the one just a few miles down the road in Bernardsville (I get my photos developed at the Bernardsville location-- the Lyons Mall store has a photo developing department, but it's really small, and I've never observed anyone utilizing its services), but I still choose to get my prescriptions here (primarily migraine medication). I get a certain number of refills on the migraine medication, and then my doctor has to authorize a renewal of the prescription, but this hasn't proven to be especially problematic.
Usually, I call when I'm running out, and speak to the automated "pharmacist." The prescription is usually ready the next day. For the most part, there haven't been any complications. Occasionally, I'll have to contact my doctor's office to make sure the prescription has been "renewed" and is viable.
(I had a funny conversation not long ago with my former boss/current friend, who once worked as an EMT in NYC. I said, "Y'know, when they were prescribing Vicodin for me...I got the necessity of needing the prescription. After all, that was the best, most blissful feeling I've ever had, when I was taking those pills regularly. No pain, a state of euphoria, a passage that lasted for hours from resentful nihilism to a fervent love of all the creatures in God's universe; if it came down to a choice between Vicodin and sex with my then-current girlfriend, well...there's a reason why she's not my girlfriend anymore." "TMI, Ed. What's your question?" "The medication I take now stops the headache pain, but it invariably makes me feel like shite. Unlike the Vicodin or Percocet, there's no pleasure, no bliss, no euphoria. So...why do I need a prescription for it? Nobody is abusing this stuff for pleasure." "Well, as it opens the veins in your head, it does the same to the veins in your heart. So, if you have any sort of heart condition, you could stroke out on it." Ah, now I see. OK. Headache relief vs. a potential stroke? You get an idea of how bad the headache pain is when I say that headache relief wins every time. But...anyway...)
Today I was there for my Covid booster shot. The only criteria that entitles me to it is that I work in a job that potentially exposes me to Covid (a co-worker was vaccinated and STILL came down with it). Unlike when I tried to get an appointment for the initial Pfizer vaccine, the process here was relatively easy. Coming in today, I filled out some perfunctory paperwork, showed them my vaccination card, and sat down to wait. I didn't have to wait too long. A pharmacist swabbed down my upper arm, gave me my injection, and I was on my way.
So far, no adverse reaction. With the Pfizer vaccine shots I got some months ago, my arm did feel like someone had punched me...hard...in it, I was tired, and I got a migraine each time. Then again, I'm often tired, and suffer from constant migraines, so I don't know if there was a causal effect at work, or not.
Also, I remember in driving on my way home through Bedminster, I passed a boisterous "STOP THE STEAL" Trump rally on the corner by the Clarence Dillon library. My 1st reaction was that I must have been hallucinating. I wasn't...
Wait! What's that outside my window? Has Trump crawled up out of the sewer like Pennywise the Clown? Am I hallucinating now? Will I never be rid of that Orange Vampire and his zombie-like horde!?! I've got to check....
Sorry about that. Just a squirrel rooting around in the bushes. Could've been the ex-president in disguise, I guess, but this squirrel was gray, not orange. I think I'm safe.
(Funny story-- on the same day I saw that Bund-like rally in Bedminster, one of my friends, a black man from Newark, was driving to visit family in PA. He stopped at the same red light as I did, was confronted by the same sad spectacle as I was. "Eddie, I sat in my car staring straight ahead. No expression on my face. I didn't want to provoke those people. Can you imagine how they might have reacted to a black man laughing at them? You remember Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit?' I didn't want to end up hanging from the poplar tree. They have poplar trees in Bedminster?" "Hey, I was there at almost the same time as you! They might have hanged me up from the same tree!" "Yeah. You and me hanging from the poplar tree? A black man and a white man? That would have been Strange Fruit indeed!" We were joking with each other, although...maybe not...)
Anyway, the process of getting my migraine medication runs smooth, and I didn't have any hurdles when it came to getting my booster shot. So, the transition from Rite Aid to Walgreens is complete, and I'm still a regular customer. Thumbs up. read more
