Royally masked

My face mask arrived yesterday.  Two of them. 

I wanted black, for maximum macho effect, but had to settle for "Royal Blue."  My undergraduate university was offering cardinal-colored face masks emblazoned with the school name and logo, but I was afraid that a gang  of graduates of our archrivals might find me alone in a dark alley and beat me to a pulp.  I'll stick with Royal Blue.

I don't get out much nowadays.  For the past five weeks, I've done my weekly grocery shopping on-line.  I drive to the grocery store, phone my arrival, and wait in the car while a friendly attendant loads the stuff into my trunk.  The only time I've been inside a store since March was to fill a prescription at a drug store.  I didn't have a mask. It was 8 a.m. and the store was mainly empty, but I still felt naked and unprotected.

I don't intend to wear the mask while out walking.  My neighborhood isn't densely populated like Queens, in New York.  I can easily walk while keeping a considerable distance from other pedestrians, and we avoid each other with a smile, although runners and bicyclists sometimes streak by a bit too close for comfort. 

But I'm more concerned about being stuck near others indoors, and that's when the mask will come in handy.  Because, sooner or later, I'll be forced to confront such a situation.

Costo now requires all shoppers to wear a face mask, which seems eminently reasonable to me.  Apparently, some shoppers are outraged, and have threatened to boycott Costco, or even take more violent actions.  They view masks as a protection only for themselves, like motorcycle helmets and seat belts --  whose mandated use no doubt also infuriates them.  "Is there no end to the tyrannical acts of this government,"  they shout, imitating the tone of the list of grievances against the Crown in the Declaration of Independence.  "Give me liberty or give me death."  Over seat belts and face masks.

Face masks differ from helmets and seat belts, in that their use is primarily for the safety of others, not the wearer.  I'm hoping they add some protection for me, of course.  But I know that I could be infecting others for a week or so before I had any symptoms myself.  It seems reasonable that government -- and certainly private grocery stores -- should protect the health of the general public by requiring face masks where distancing has become insufficient or impossible,

But I rise above the howls of those who enjoy the benefits of government, but feel entitled to avoid imposition upon themselves of the slightest inconvenience for the benefit of others.  My Royal Blue mask awaits my wearing..