In this post we take a break from our usual fare to introduce you to my new hero. His name is Joe Caramagna. Here is a taste of his interview with Heather Schwedel at Slate:
Back in March, doughnut chain Krispy Kreme announced that it would give one free glazed ring of dough a day to anyone who got the COVID vaccine for the rest of 2021. As in, you could go back and get one every single day for the rest of the year. The news inspired its own little outrage cycle for a few days there. Now months have passed, a flurry of potentially more exciting freebies has been announced, and it seemed like a good time to ask: No one has actually been going to the trouble of getting a free doughnut every day, right? Wrong. Joe Caramagna, a 45-year-old comics writer in northern New Jersey, has gotten 31 free Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts since getting vaccinated and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. Between bites, he agreed to speak to Slate about it. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Heather Schwedel: How did this promotion with the free Krispy Kreme doughnuts first cross your radar?
Joe Caramagna: I heard about it the way everyone did, through social media, through their Twitter account, which I follow very, very intently. I got very excited, of course, and a bunch of tweets were sent my way, given my reputation.
Yes, I’ve gathered that you’re known for being something of a doughnut connoisseur.
It’s always been my thing. Every time I travel to different cities for comic-cons or whatever, I always Google doughnut shops near me and I try the local doughnut place. This one shop, Broad Street Dough Co. in Oakhurst, New Jersey, they actually let me create my own doughnut special called the Joenut.
Are there a lot of Krispy Kremes in your area?
I didn’t even have one within reasonable driving distance until about a year ago. What’s funny is that they built this new Krispy Kreme that I’ve been going to. It just opened up the week before my second Pfizer shot, and it’s within walking distance. It’s a mile away. It’s kismet, right?
When you heard about this, did you know right away that you wanted to try to get a free doughnut every single day?
Well, when I first heard about it, the Krispy Kreme that’s a mile away hadn’t opened yet, and all that was there was a sign saying, “Coming soon, Krispy Kreme.” So I didn’t think it would be possible for me to go every day. I’ve been taking long walks every morning for the past couple of years to kind of clear my head for work. When they opened the new Krispy Kreme store, it’s right near my walking route, so that became an added motivator to keep my routine going so I’m productive with my job and get more stories written. So it just became, “Yeah, of course I’m going to go and do this every day.” Why wouldn’t I? It would be weird not to.
How did it go the first time you went in for your free doughnut?
I just walked in and I just asked for “one original glazed doughnut, please,” and then proudly held up my little card. They see it, and they say, “Oh, vaccination card, OK.” And then you see the little screen shows zero dollars and zero cents and they ask you to pick up your free doughnut across the counter on your way out the door.
Read the rest here.
