Tag: #Masks

  • End of Masks

    Seems like just about every state will end mandatory mask mandates in March. I know there is the asterisk for local communities who can still require a mandate if numbers go up again. But for all intents and purposes, the phase of masking up is coming down.

    Now, the cynical me feels like this is a Democratic ploy to get an issue off the table before the midterms. If there are no more mandates and restrictions to rally against, then the Republicans gotta come up with another issue. (Sadly, I know the “issue” will be school choice and the bullshit CRT issue. But that will be for another day.) In reality, I don’t think this move will help Democrats; they’re gun’na lose.

    I will say this honestly, I am ready for masks to go away. (I will still wear a mask on the subway, because it’s a stinky, crazy place down there.) Yes, there is a little fatigue, but I also feel, especially here in New York City, we have done our job of getting vaccinated; 77% vaccination rate for the City, with Queens the highest at 85%. We followed the rules, though no one was happy about it, and got on top of this. Besides, isn’t this what was supposed to happen.

    I thought the plan from the very beginning was to mask up, social distance, stay home, wash your hands, get your vax when available, and when we get to herd immunity – 75-85% – then we can all go back to normal. Seems like we hit the goal. Time for masks to go, and get back to doing whatever it is that you want to do.

    The only thing that I will say is that I would feel better about getting rid of masks if there was a vaccine for all ages. 6 months to 4 years are still waiting, so that is the only hesitancy I have.

    My last thing I will say about masks; I have adopted the idea of having a mask for winter. Covering my face outside on the coldest of cold days made the weather bearable. So, not all masks were bad.

  • People on the Streets

    Man, there are a lot of people on the streets. At least in Harlem, anyway. I know that I said this on Monday, but I did assume that it was due to schools opening up again, and every parent and guardian wanted to walk their kid to class. And walking to school this morning, there were kids and parents everywhere. Again, not real surprised. But, after I dropped the kid off, I had an errand to run which took me away from the school and our building.

    And good lord, there are people everywhere. It honestly felt like a pre-Pandemic amount of people on the streets. About half the people were in masks, and full disclosure, I only put my mask on if I go into a building or store, as I am fully vaccinated.

    Logically, I know that New York State, New York City, Manhattan, and Harlem have high vaccination rates, and low Covid infection rates. It could be better, sure, but compared to other parts of this country – we’re doing pretty well, and in that sense, relatively safe.

    Now, emotionally, I find myself uncomfortable being around this many people. Even when we were on vacation in Maine, only three times in that week were we around large amounts of people; Freeport, Portland, and Old Orchard Beach. The rest of the time, we were away from crowds and on our own. Now, I see buses full, subway cars filling up, and people right up against each other in stores. I can take about two hours of this, but any more time after that, I begin to creep myself out.

    At some point, we are going to be at herd immunity. At some point, life will kind’a be normal. At some point, I will have to go out and find a job, which will mean being near people for about eight hours a day. This is coming, and it is a good thing. What I am seeing now in myself is that there will need to be some work on my end to become comfortable with it.

    It will just take some time.

  • Running Again, Mask-Less

    So, I did it yesterday. I started running again. It has been over a year since I tried any form of exercise, and it felt like it. I ran around the local park in my neighborhood, and there was a noticeable jiggle to me, which caused me to get itchy in the jiggly parts. I wasn’t crazy, I knew that I needed to pace myself. I had a thirty-minute time limit, and I knew to jog, then walk, then jog, and then walk. I didn’t want to hurt myself on the first day, though I knew my legs would start aching soon enough. And that occurred last night about 3am.

    Chalk one more up to getting “back to normal.” I was out running without my mask. In fact, I didn’t even bring it. As I ran, pretty much everyone else was also mask-less. The parks are filling up with people around here, and I have to say that half of the non-exercising people are without masks. A few people who were jogging had a mask on, but on the whole, not many.

    I am trying to follow through on the things I have been promising that I would take care of after I got vaxed. Get around in the City on mass transit was one, and now, getting myself back in shape. The kid is very supportive in this effort. When I got back from running yesterday, she looked at me and said, “I think you lost weight.”

  • A Friendly Mask-less Walk

    So, I have been walking around the neighborhood without a mask for a little over a week now. I did the thing where I have my mask on but I have pulled it under my chin. It’s like trying to have it both ways; I have a mask on but I don’t. At the start of the week, I just pulled the band-aid off, and went out mask-less, but I do take a mask with me, tucked into my front shirt pocket. (There is always a chance I might have to go in a store or ride a bus, so I keep the mask on me at all time.) There was a bit of nervousness with the act, like I was breaking some social code, like white pants after Labor Day.

    When I walk around, even with the dog, there are a few people that give me a dirty look, but this is New York, so that really is par for the course. Also par for the course is that most people keep looking down, or straight ahead as if you don’t exist.

    But today, as I walked the dog, it was the first day that I noticed that smiles are coming back. And even in some cases a smile with a nod. It’s a small touch of friendly, and it does make the neighborhood feel like a neighborhood again.

  • New Mask Rules

    So, we don’t have to wear masks, pretty much, anymore. That happened a lot faster and sooner that I thought. Not that I am complaining, but if that is what science is saying…

    I am aware that you still need to have a mask on for public transit, and I’m cool with that.

    The funny thing is that yesterday, the kid and I decided to take the subway to a playground because, well, we can do that again. We can go out and explore our city. We found a playground that wasn’t too far away, but wasn’t too close. We masked up on the ride down to the park, and I kept mine on as we entered the playground. I found a bench to sit at, and took my mask off as I can, now. The kid, on the other hand, kept her mask on as she ran around and made new friends.

    We were there for a long time, as it was a nice day, and the kid deserved some freedom. As the time to head home neared, I got up, and put my mask on the cross the playground, and then SNAP! The elastic that fits around my left ear snapped. I was mask-less, and I didn’t have a backup.

    What an ironic conundrum to be in. Only an hour or two earlier the CDC had said that masks weren’t required, but I needed a mask to ride the subway home. The easy answer was that I just had to retie the elastic so it would fit around my ear, but for a minute, I wondered when will we be able to ditch all the masks?