I did not want to write about COVID. I did not want to write about politics. And yet, we are surrounded by nothing else. And have been for too long. In an alternate universe a global pandemic should have brought us together like it did after the terrorist attacks of September 11th. We have a history of coming together when there is a common enemy. And maybe that is the problem. Enemies of the past were a person or people, a hurricane, something tangible. A virus that cannot be seen, heard, or touched leaves too much to the unknown. It is very hard to rally around the picture of the molecular structure of an invisible virus. The attacks of 9-11 had a face. In Hurricane Katrina we not only saw the storm, but images of the devastation and havoc it caused. We did not rally when AIDS was the newest pandemic, so it was shortsighted to think that COVID would be any different.

I am not going to delve too deeply into the politics of it all. I am leaving politics for another day. If for no other reason, it is pointless. Neither side of the argument is open to listening to the other and having a real conversation, so there is nothing more to say. I will just leave it and say that I fundamentally disagree with the current handling by our federal government and leaders. What I will say is that I wish the media would change the narrative. To continue to question how this happened and who saw what memo when is a waste of time. They are preaching to the choir for their respective audiences. The news stories being posted do not expose any new revelations or insights. It is a collection of stories that rehash the same information over and over. If anyone is on the hamster wheel, it is the media. And that is causing a different concern that will last long after COVID – apathy. Who wants to have anything to do with what passes as news these days? Only the hard core newsies. The rest have stopped reading, watching, or listening. Loss of interest and loss of trust are hard to get back.

Today’s debate is focused on masks. To wear a mask or not? Can the government (at any level) mandate that the public wear masks? To be upfront about it, I am a mask wearer. No question or complaint about it. Do I like wearing a mask? No. Do I find them uncomfortable? Yes. Is it disconcerting to not be able to see people’s faces? Absolutely. Regardless of all that, I wear a mask. And will continue to wear one as long as medical professionals deem it the right thing to do. Well, one specific medical professional anyway. And no, I am not referring to Dr. Fauci. Make no mistake, I respect the man but I do not know him well enough to trust him. He is too close to the political action. I get my recommendations from a childhood friend who is literally working the frontlines. He is an ER doctor and a well respected professional in his field. He told me back at the beginning of March, before stay at home orders and everything else, that COVID was here and what precautions to take. I work at what is considered an essential business that deals with the public and I have yet to test positive. There have been several instances of potential exposure and I still remain negative. My brother will tell you that I have been lucky. I prefer to believe it is not luck. I am just following the advice of a trusted friend who has never steered me wrong. And that means I wear mask and will do so for as long as is needed.

To be clear, I do not particularly care if other people refuse to wear a mask or not. Why? Because I won’t let anyone near me enough where it would matter. And those that do get close enough share my beliefs and wear the mask. I admit to not understanding what the big deal was behind the face mask debate. We wear seatbelts in the interest of personal safety, so why not a face mask in a pandemic? And whether the government should be allowed to mandate that the public wear a face mask seemed reasonable to me too. Again, because we have laws mandating the use of seatbelts in cars. It seems to be a pretty fair comparison. At least it seemed fair until I started reading that seatbelts also came with great controversy.

The CDC has a page dedicated to seatbelts under Motor Vehicle Safety. According to the timeline on their site, seatbelts were widely available in cars in 1964. It wasn’t until 1984 that the first seatbelt law was enacted, and it took until 1996 for all the states (except New Hampshire) to have mandatory seatbelt laws. That is a span of 32 years to get everyone on the same page. And the arguments surrounding the mandate of wearing seatbelts is remarkably similar to the arguments being pitched for not mandating the use of facemasks. The primary argument being that it is government overreach and they have no business telling us what to do. And I agree with that sentiment to a point. We have always been a country where personal rights stop where the next person’s rights begin. That is fundamental to how our society functions. The Supreme Court has ruled many times that free speech ends when public safety is at risk. The proverbial shouting of “fire!” in a public theater and inciting fear and risk to the larger group is not protected speech. Inciting hate or encouraging others to commit a crime have also been deemed unprotected speech. Using that premise, seatbelts were mandated for the reason that the protection of public safety was deemed more important than the individual right to not wear a seatbelt. 56 years after the widespread inclusion of seatbelts in cars, no one is questioning their use or the laws that demand their use. The fact that seatbelts save lives is not in dispute. And while there is no definitive proof that masks save lives, there is enough evidence to say they help. And quite frankly, my right to take risks with my health stop when that same right risks the health of the person next to me. I am not allowed to use my right to force anyone else to take an unnecessary risk. The common good of the public’s health outweighs my personal right. The problem with a pandemic is that we don’t have 32 years to get everyone on the same page. Consequently, I wear a facemask and choose to avoid those that do not.

Living in a time of COVID is hard. Work is complicated because of social distancing rules and dealing with a public that is tired of the rules being enforced. Every night I get home completely exhausted and worn out. And I consider myself one of the lucky ones. My employment and paycheck have never been at risk. I was already fairly antisocial and haven’t seen much of a change in my lifestyle. I work for an employer that takes the health and well-being of the employees very seriously. From the beginning, we have had access to face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and a clean, regularly disinfected work site. Profit was second to employee safety. But life has become drab and depressing. My friends in the medical profession have the seen the worst of it. Too many stories of the sick and isolated. It is heartbreaking. I miss the occasional lunch with a friend and not being able to say bon voyage to a friend who left the city to be with family. And I miss going to the movies! Even a self-professed hermit needs the random social outlet. Mostly I miss the joy in life. I am not alone in that feeling. In the office just yesterday, I was sitting in my cubicle at the back of the office and you could hear laughter coming from the front of the building. My boss looked at me and asked, “Is that laughing? We haven’t heard that in a long time.” And I realized it was true. We have gotten so bogged down with staying safe and looking for risks that we have forgotten how to laugh. Between the virus and the economy, there is little to laugh about at the moment. And that will continue to be a burden for some time. However, there was laughter yesterday and it was a great reminder that joy still exists. We just have to look a little harder to find it.

My last words on COVID for the immediate future – I do not know what the new “normal” is going to be as we continue to deal with this virus. I stayed calm during the great toilet paper shortage. And I did not panic when beef products were being limited due to widespread shortages. I did not even freak out when I went to the grocery store and found empty shelves. But a Dr. Pepper shortage?! That is the last straw. Do not tell an addict that there is a potential supply problem. I did not get myself hooked on this beverage. A friend and co-worker first exposed me to the Dr. Pepper lifestyle. I may have become an addict, but I refuse to be a victim. I don’t drink your coffee. You don’t drink my Dr. Pepper.

New show update –

Muppets NOW is the latest edition of Muppets available on Disney+. I have watched the first two episodes and am still laughing. The gang is back in what feels like an updated version of the Muppet Show. Miss Piggy’s LifeSty show is hysterical. Taye Diggs is great as he experiences the latest trend in massage – slap massage. And Kermit as an expert photo bomber is laugh out loud funny. If you are a fan of the Muppets then it’s worth a watch.

A surprise only to me –

I had heard and read the accolades for Hamilton. I even had a friend who let me borrow the soundtrack. And I thought the soundtrack was pretty decent but not worth the raves. Wrong. So very wrong. I watched the theatrical release and was blown away. Okay, so it’s not completely accurate from a historical content. It is a Broadway show so a little creative licensing was to be expected. I found it completely captivating and like other shows based on a real person, it compelled me to do more reading and exploring of Alexander Hamilton.