As communities nationwide are tip-toeing into various reopening “plans,” I realize that I’ve been getting quite good at this sheltering at home thing. It’s really a remarkable feat for an extreme extrovert like me.
But yesterday, I had to venture out to the pharmacy to refill a couple of prescriptions, and what I found there was shocking.
There were a total of seven customers, in addition to me, at that Walgreens location. Four of them were strolling around the pharmacy without a mask or face covering of any type.
One of them was carrying a dog in her arms. The animal was clearly not an emotional support beast, and she was coughing repeatedly in her face.
To clarify, the shopper was coughing in the dog’s face. I’ll bet even that pooch wishes that Karen had been wearin’ a mask. She (the shopper) was sporting a grey t-shirt emblazoned with the American flag, with the words “In God We Trust” above it.
I trust in God, too, but God gave me common sense. Clearly, He didn’t trust that woman with the sense that He gave a raisin.
Another of those Walgreens mask-less shoppers was an African American woman who had taken the time to apply her false eyelashes and her sew-in, but didn’t seem to care about doing her part to prevent the spread of coronavirus and cover her nose and mouth. With COVID 19 ravaging the black community, I could do nothing but shake my head about that one.
I asked the pharmacist whether most customers were wearing masks, and he told me that, off of the top of his head, he thought about 80% were following guidelines regarding face coverings. My quick trip to Walgreens yesterday was just a moment in time, and my survey was far from scientific, but far fewer than 80% of that store’s shoppers were wearing masks.
Now, let me say that I’ve written enough about masks and the need to follow CDC guidelines to last me a lifetime, which I intend to be quite long. But I’ve got to get this one off of my chest:
If you’re going out — to the store, to the bank, to McDonalds — and you’re not wearing a mask, you may as well be wearing a Make America Great Again cap or a KKK hood, because just like the people who wear those items, you don’t give a damn about me.
Nor do you care about anyone else you may be infecting with a virus that may well be in your system, asymptomatically waiting for an opportunity to be sprayed from your mouth to someone else’s, or to a surface that someone else will have to touch.
That person will be infected. If he or she is lucky, he’ll be asymptomatic, too. But he’s got a 20% chance of showing symptoms, and about a 5-10% chance of winding up on a respirator. Or dying.
All because you wouldn’t wear a mask…
As my home county prepares to move to Phase 2 of a reopening plan this weekend, I have this to say:
The loosening of coronavirus restrictions only means that the government thinks they have enough available hospital beds to accommodate your mask-less ass if you get sick. Think about that before you stop washing those hands and your next trek to the bar, the bowling alley, or your next KKK — I mean, Trump reelection — rally.
Do your neighbor a couple of favors:
Wear a mask.
Continue to practice social distancing.
Wash your hands, thoroughly and often.
Leave your dog at home. (That has nothing to do with COVID; it just drives me nuts.)
And in all seriousness, be careful! Contrary to what Trump and other morons want you to believe, a shot of cleanser won’t cut it. There’s still a virus out there.
And until a vaccine is discovered and made universally available, they’ll be a virus out there long after states return “to normal.”
Michael's Mind's Eye 