Month: August 2020

I Hate The Masks, Too

At the beginning of the pandemic, I heard what people were saying about wearing masks.  I even had a friend in Europe ask me, “Why does your leadership say not to wear a mask?”  I quoted the story told in the press, but it did seem both sides of the pond had a different take on wearing or not wearing the “smile-blocker.”

When Texas jumped on board with the “mandatory mask” rules, I hated it from the very beginning.  Although, I had started to wear a mask when going to the store.  I could make an argument, “I am healthy and not sick.  Why should I wear a mask?  I had a negative COVID test 6 weeks ago.  I should still be good, right?”  While all of that may be true, I am a rule follower.  If the governor or someone else who has legal standing can say, “No more shopping without your mask.”, then I will comply.  I will wait to put the mask on until just before entering the building.  And, as soon as my hands are free and I am outside of the building, I will remove the mask.  Maybe I think I am getting away with something by not wearing the mask for one second longer than necessary.  Regardless of my dislike for the mask, I recognize the store’s authority.  If they say, “No shopping in our store unless you wear a mask.”, then I guess I am naïve enough to take them literally.  Could they possibly mean that shopping without a mask within their establishment is not to be tolerated?

This brings me to today.  (And a week ago when I went to the same store.)  Today, as I walked behind a couple, (were they a husband and wife?  Were they a mother and son?  To my untrained eye, they did not scream, “I am healthy and I don’t care who knows it.”), I noticed they didn’t have a mask on.  I thought, “If they walk in that way, that is pretty brazen.”  After being told at the same store last week that, “The manager really doesn’t like enforcing that rule.”, my spider senses started tingling.

If it is a rule, it is a rule.  Or, is it a rule unless someone ignores the rule, then it isn’t a rule for them?  But, if it isn’t a rule for them, who is it a rule for?  As I inquired of the gentlemen offering additional sterilizing services of my cart as I walked in, “Why can’t they order online and pick up their order?”  Smaller retail stores sometimes have signs on their front windows, “Call ‘this number’ for curbside assistance.”  They want your business.  Yet, they realize consistency is important.  If they let customers decide whether a rule applies to them, then isn’t that a step on the road toward anarchy? (In fairness, I get irritated when dog owners have their dogs off the leash in mandatory leash areas, too.)

Unfortunately, nearly everything is political these days.  As you evaluate what governments do and don’t do, realize the factors you need to consider when you receive your ballot on election day.  (If you vote early, it is the same difference.)  One party favors more government.  The other party favors less government involvement.  Neither party may be offering you an ideal candidate.  As a Christian, I see both of the major party tickets being flawed.  Despite this fact, I will vote.  And, I will encourage others to vote for the candidate that best expresses their values.  If they don’t know who does, I will tell them. 😉

 

Pandemic Help

As I went out on my walk today, I did not have to walk too far before being reminded of the storm that passed through last night.  Our yard looked like a gardener had attempted to snip away at our live oak trees.  The trimmings were all over our yard.  In a couple of cases, the gardener let his shears go crazy.  He tested the sharpness of his shears on some large branches of the pine trees.  But, whatever chaos was in my yard, I needed to get my walk in before the humidity climbed.

As I continued along my path, the gardener must have been joined by an arborist.  Their efforts on the trees were causing chainsaws to buzz and rakes to gather in the smaller trimmings.  Before I reached the one-mile mark of my path,  a landowner was trying to recover a branch that fell into the path across a fence.  The older couple ahead of me stopped pushing the stroller that contained their lapdog to help.  Mr. Lapdog was struggling to find leverage on the branch.  Mrs.  Lapdog was standing there waiting.  As I was about to pass them, I offered to help.  My offer was something like, “Not sure what the rules are about helping during a pandemic, but I would be glad to.”  My AirPods may have prevented me from hearing their jubilation at my offer.  Mrs. Lapdog rushed to her husband’s aid before I could risk introducing a few breaths of possibly asymptomatic germs in their general direction.  Whether or not I heard the answer, being helpful during a pandemic was not as easy as before her arrival.  (Is it fair to call the pandemic a “her”?  Since hurricanes can now be male or female, it seems logical pandemics would follow the same rules.)

Before arriving home, my value was reestablished when I talked to a gentleman who frequently is doing yard work when I pass by.  He was busy working his rake when I paused on the other side of the road.   We swapped a couple of, “I saw a bigger tree blown over then you did” stories.”  After I appeared to win this debate, he was reminded of his rain gauge.

I said, “Based on the increase of water in my swimming pool, I would guess your gauge shows an inch or two.”

After picking up the gauge and checking, he said, “Just over one and a half inches.  To be exact, it says one and six-tenths.  Yeah, we got some rain.”

During a pandemic, it seems safest not to be in a situation where the pandemic should be a source of conversation.  Pandemic help might just be trying to interact as much like “before” as possible.  We are all trying to digest a normal that involves extended mask “laws”.   Maybe the “help” people need is a conversation where they can see your lips move.  They want to be acknowledged and not treated like they have super-cooties that can hop from bodies within a 10-foot radius.  They want to see a smile that is not covered by a mask and only assumed to be present based on the twinkle in your eyes.  Possible that is the kind of help people are seeking.