Blue View - 10 Observations from Behind the Mask

The blog I had planned for today was to be a riveting story about a couple of mining disasters that took place in the Silver Valley area of Idaho. As exciting and interesting as that sounds, I thought that with the wild fires, hurricanes, pandemic, political landscape, rioting and whatever other disasters that may yet befall us all, maybe something lighter might be better.  So, as disappointed as I’m sure everyone will be, I thought I’d talk about life behind the mask instead. Here are ten observations I’ve made:

By the time this pandemic is over, I’m afraid they may permanently look like a cross between Alfred E. Neuman and Prince Charles.

1. Yoda Ears

I fear I’m developing Yoda ears from my mask. If the ear bands aren’t tight enough, my mask continually slips down. If they are tight enough to hold my mask in place, my ears are bent out like Dumbo the elephant. By the time this pandemic is over, I’m afraid they may permanently look like a cross between Yoda, Alfred E. Neuman and Prince Charles.

2. Everyone Looks Better

In my opinion, most people look better with a mask on. Heck, even the toothless, homeless lady that panhandles on Tropicana near here looks almost fetching in her mask. First, it makes people look younger; all those laugh lines, age spots and sagging jaw lines are  nicely covered. Also, all those minor imperfections like too large a nose, snarly smile and crooked teeth are hidden, and my ‘mind’s eye’ usually pictures the rest of the face as more comely than it probably is... or it could be that, or there actually are, a lot more very attractive people than there used to be. Since I don’t usually see both the mask and unmasked faces of people, I can only speculate. There are exceptions, of course... those very attractive people out there may not look better with a mask, but then, they certainly don’t look any less attractive. 

Kissing is definitely not as much fun with a mask on!

3. Kissing 

Kissing is much less interesting with masks on. The only person I kiss these days is Marcie, however, and since she still lets me kiss her without a mask, it’s not a big issue for me, but it could be.

4. Savings in Make-Up 

While the cost of masks adds to our living expenses, there is surely a considerable savings to those that no longer feel the need to wear all that expensive make-up under their masks. And there must also be a considerable time savings in the mornings that would normally be spent applying it.

Mask wearing has certainly beccome a fashion statement for many of us.

5. Fashion Statements

Mask wearing has certainly become a fashion statement for many of us. You can, of course, buy masks with any political message or business logo, or that are cute and funny, intimidating, or in colors to accessorize any outfit. My two sisters are now both in the mask making business and have some very nice designs, BTW.

6. Hold-Ups

Hold-up men must feel much more comfortable these days, since they don’t draw nearly as much attention jogging out of the local bank with a mask on.

7. Mask-ne 

This is new term to me... acne due to mask wearing. I know that, even at my advanced age, I have problems with it and Rosacea in the hot weather.

8. Bad Breath

A very big plus of mask wearing and social distancing is that I can drink all the coffee I want and eat as much garlic as I like without offending anyone. The downside is that Marcie then asks me to wear my mask when I kiss her.

9. Hygiene

Not showering as frequently is not as much a problem these days, and even encourages others to wear their masks and maintain social distancing when in my vicinity.

10. Tissues

I find that I require far fewer tissues these days. In the old days, on a cool morning when we’d go walking, I might use two or three tissues for my runny nose. Now, with my mask, I don’t require any at all - the mask does the job for me. For some reason, Marcie does insist on washing my mask each day.

Seriously, we feel strongly about mask wearing. As we’ve stated before in our blog, if  we, as well as 99% of the epidemiologists and infectious disease experts in the world are wrong and mask wearing is not helping, than the worst that happens is we all will have been slightly inconvenienced by donning masks during this time. If, on the other hand, they are right, people who choose not to wear masks are endangering everyone else. Why take the risk?

BTW, I recently read that a number of researchers think there is a good possibility that, if you do become exposed to the virus, a mask may filter enough of the virus to reduce your exposure down to a level that the body can successfully fight off. There’s no realistic way to prove or disprove the theory, but it sounds reasonable, and is one more argument in favor of mask wearing.

Join Marcie this week as she wraps up our 2020 Pandemic Roadtrip... just in time to start planning the next one.