Unmasking Some Crazy
I’ve dodged the dreaded lurgy, and I got vaxxed. I’ve been living in a bubble at home, sheltered from the world. I only venture out to get groceries and run. When I run, I have coffee afterwards. Caffeine and Dopamine are a great mix and a great incentive to exercise.
At my local Seattle coffee shop, post-run, this is the scene…
On the door is a sign that says, “you must wear a mask to enter.” Next to that is a sign that says, “please sanitise.” Nothing unusual here, you see that outside every establishment.
“Whaaat!” Listen to that nonsense. This is completely unusual. Go back 18 months, and if someone told you that you would have to mask and sanitise before walking in a coffee shop, you would think they are a weirdo.
There is a queue to buy coffee. Everyone in the queue is wearing a mask. All the barristers are wearing masks. There is a perspex barrier above the pay till. Apparently, that protects the person who rings up your order. The Seattle store is no more than 10m x 10m in size. Sitting down at the tables and couches are more than twenty customers. None of the seated customers is wearing masks. Some seated, unmasked customers, mostly bike riders, are sitting less than a metre from the queuing customers. The masked and the unmasked within 6 feet of each other. How can that be?
A seated customer takes the last sip of his cappuccino. His tongue licks the edge of the cup to get the remaining stubborn coffee flavoured foam. He puts on his mask. He is preparing to stand up. The look on his face says he is desperate for another shot of the Guatemala flavour on special. He stands up and joins the queue of masked weirdos — those seeking caffeine.
There must have been a notice that was missing on the entrance door. Either that or there is an unwritten rule. The rule must be that masks are required if your head is in the 5–6 foot zone above the floor. But, if your head is anywhere below that zone, say 4–5 feet, then masks are not required. What else can it be? Everyone sitting is without masks while those standing have masks on. Someone needs to explain to me. What am I missing? Oh, and the Perspex screen. Somehow the fragrant coffee rich aroma that I smell in the air doesn’t know how to get past the 2-foot-wide screen.
Are we so f@#$king stupid! Are we doing this because we need to be seen to be wearing masks because our overloads say we must?
You have been sitting inside a coffee shop, close to dozens of people for 20 minutes, without a mask. They don’t have their masks on either. Then you put on a mask to stand up and order coffee. Then you sit down and take off your mask and drink your coffee for another 20 minutes.
When are we going to wake up and smell the coffee? Perhaps we should just wander around with our heads up our asses. That might be safer.
Justin Spencer-Young
