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    I’m baaaccck! I said I was quitting and I’m still not sure how often I’ll do this. As I discovered, writing had been cathartic for me and as we roll into the seventh month of isolation I’m searching for an—any outlet. My kitchen counters have taken on the role of a pantry so I can keep track of what we have and what we need. But it’s clutter, lots of clutter. If you know me, you know clutter and I are not friends. But one has to adjust, adapt and make the best of a bad situation so that is what I’m doing. Anything for distraction from my clutter.

     What drives me to come out of my self-imposed “hibernation” is the continuing debate: To mask, or Not to mask (it shouldn’t be a question). It’s a no-brainer. WEAR A MASK! Do I really need to socially distance?  I mean after all, I know this person-these people. I know who they’ve seen, who they’ve come in contact with, they are my relatives, my friends, for God’s sake. I don’t need to socially distance, not hug. SOCIALLY DISTANCE for Pete’s sake!

     So here goes, sit back. Pick up a pencil and notebook to take notes. I’m going to explain why I think all this is necessary and I’m not prone to exaggeration, hyperbole or fake news.

     When HIV-AIDS was reaching pandemic proportions in the 70s and 80s, I worked out this schematic. There was a lot of unprotected sex going on, a lot. It should have been a concern for everyone who was engaging in sexual encounters with random partners-gay or straight. However it wasn’t and hundreds of people got infected and died. This schematic, figured out in my feeble little brain, is so basic I believe anyone can understand it and follow the logic. Just in case I’m wrong about the simplicity, please follow along carefully.

     For the purpose of a virtual diagram, I will use girl-A, Phyllis and boy-1, Jim. Not real persons and names picked randomly. So, Jim asks Phyllis to meet him for a drink after work on Friday. It really doesn’t matter how they got into each other’s orbit initially, they just did. She agrees, they meet, have drinks, talk and discover they have so much in common; friends, favorite vacation spots, love of dogs and food. One thing leads to another and as those things usually went back then, the evening ends at her apartment and lasts through breakfast the next day. Now you have their basic story. As Paul Harvey used to say, “And now here’s the rest of the story”.

     Phyllis-A wasn’t virginal, she’d had at least one recent kind of serious boyfriend, boy 2. Jim had also engaged in intimate relations with girls B-C-D. Are you still with me? So when girl A slept with boy 1, she was also sleeping with girl(s) B, C, and D (figuratively). And boy 1 was also sleeping with boy 2(figuratively). But it doesn’t end there. Girl A was also sleeping with all the other boys that B-C-D slept with(figuratively). For the sake of being kind, even if each girl only slept with 1 or 2 other guys, that means Phyllis slept with six or more other guys. Same with Jim. A virus is virulent. It travels from person to person to person and makes no distinctions for age, race, nationality, financial status, sexual orientation, etc. Those who engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse  (even today) with anyone who has been infected with HIV will get the virus and suffer the consequence of that momentary lapse in judgement. So smart persons use protection, regardless of any excuse not to use it.

     Foremost in my mind, every single day, is one question. Who has this person I am coming into contact with been in contact with? Was it someone who was asymptomatic? (If you don’t understand what 

asymptomatic means, please go to a source you trust and find out. I can tell you what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that the person isn’t contagious. They are!) Was it someone who didn’t yet know they were sick and just believed it was their annual allergies? Is the store, service provider, bar, restaurant or office performing temperature checks on their employees? Are they washing their hands regularly? Are they cleaning surfaces regularly? Because I’m not just dealing with the person standing in front of me but also every person they have been in contact with and so on and so on and so on. Even my neighbors and friends and family members, who I know and trust, come into contact with people they don’t know or who those people have been in contact with. No one is safe from contact with anyone else. It isn’t personal. It isn’t political. It’s life or death.

     Everyone is selling masks now, everywhere. It’s free advertising for hundreds of companies, political parties, celebs. They showcase your dog, favorite movie, action hero, TV show, color or pattern. They are embellished or plain. At the beginning of this mess, Etsy had a few pages of masks made by home crafters. Now there are many, many pages with any pattern or design or color made, in some cases, by big corporations. Pinterest has hundreds! Take your pick. But make a pick! Wear a mask! Save your life. Save some else’s. Love your self enough to endure this Minor inconvenience. Love others enough. Help out hospitals that are full to capacity. Help healthcare workers who are stretched to their emotional limits. Don’t think because this person is your family or a close friend that they or you are safe, immune. Be smart, use your common sense. After all, sense is common so we all should have it, right?