1. It keeps your face warm when it's really cold outside. I discovered this earlier this week when I took a vehicle into the shop for repairs. Naturally, the mechanics don't want clients hanging around in the office in the midst of a pandemic, so I had to wait outside for my wife to pick me up. It was freezing. But my face was warm. As we used to say in the 1970s: Bonus!
2. Nobody cares anymore if I've shaved or not. Admittedly, I don't know if anyone cared about it before the pandemic. But I cared (or used to). I don't care that much anymore. Prior to the pandemic, and back in the days when I had an office at which to appear every morning, shaving was a morning ritual for me: the first (well, second) thing I did after rolling out of bed every morning. Now I'm down to shaving every other day. I'm one of those "full-beard" guys, and I look scruffy if I go a day without shaving, but these days, the only ones who see me without a mask are my family members.
One thing it also saves one from is putting on makeup. But I like makeup. Not a heavy amount, but some. Sometimes I wear it anyway, Especially my favorite shade of lipstick. Just because I have to see myself in the bathroom mirror. If I go out it can rub off on the mask. But I don't think that causes the mask to be less effective.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about it keeping your face warm though. But when you see only half a face sometimes it's hard to tell who you're seeing. I've said "hi" because I thought it was someone I knew and got a blank look. Ookay, guess not.
I didn't used to wear a mask to perpetual adoration, because I'd be the only one in the chapel. But lately I do, because another person or persons started showing up during my hour, which I realize isn't "mine", and we should be happy others are participating. But I have to work on that.
Another reason to wear a mask there is that the chapel serves as the cry room on Sundays, and people crowd in there. Including a lot of people who don't even have young kids, including some older people. Which I totally don't understand. They sanitize it after Masses, but I don't know how long the airborne stuff lingers.
"I've said "hi" because I thought it was someone I knew and got a blank look. Ookay, guess not."
DeleteMe too! Or the inverse: I've inadvertently shunned people I know very well, because I don't recognize them with their mask. (I guess another benefit of a mask is that it covers some of our "distinctive" features, like a crooked nose)
Your crying room situation is crazy. Ours has been locked since the pandemic began. If people in the pews don't want to hear the sound of children in their midst, they can stay home. At least around here they can: our archbishop has suspended the obligation to attend mass.
About our cry room, they're not there because people don't want to hear babies or children. Plenty of families sit in the main church with their children. They're there because they like being there. The pews are taped off for distancing, there's only three in the chapel that are available for seating. Two or three families can easily fill those up. There is another side chapel, a bit larger, on the other side of the sanctuary. People seem to go there by preference too. The main church has a very high ceiling, it just seems safer. We are supposed to only be at 50% pew occupancy, that is half the pews taped off, with seating only at the ends. Which actually amounts to less than 50%. But I think people are fudging it sometimes. We are still dispensed from the obligation, too.
DeleteWell, I have been enjoying sun and moderate temperatures since arriving in LA on the 5th. High 60s to low 70s. Morning coffee and reading the news while in the backyard sun. We haven't left our son's home since getting here so don't need a mask on a daily basis.
DeleteOn the subject of bringing together the country (I'm not sure it can be done as I've stated before) - there is a decent op piece by Thomas Edsall in the NYTimes on the subject - with some interesting comment threads as well. If you haven't used up all your free articles yet, you might find it interesting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/opinion/trump-political-sectarianism.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Glad you finished your trip safely, Ann. Enjoy the warm weather and take advantage of it for ventilation.
DeleteI saw a recent news story to the effect that the migration patterns in the US toward the South and Southwest parts of the country which have prevailed for my adult life, soon will be reversing because, thanks to climate change, cities like Houston and Miami will become less habitable. At the same time, Chicago and Minneapolis will become milder. Or so I understood.
DeleteAnne, it sounds lovely out in sunny CA. It's not too bad here either, though a bit cooler at sunny 35°. The snow is pretty on the open field south of our house. But I'll be glad to see spring.
ReplyDeleteThe NYT article is good. I was especially struck by the following:
"Political sectarianism consists of three core ingredients: othering — the tendency to view opposing partisans as essentially different or alien to oneself; aversion — the tendency to dislike and distrust opposing partisans; and moralization — the tendency to view opposing partisans as iniquitous. It is the confluence of these ingredients that makes sectarianism so corrosive in the political sphere."
"There are multiple adverse outcomes that result from political sectarianism, according to the authors. It “incentivizes politicians to adopt antidemocratic tactics when pursuing electoral or political victories” since their supporters will justify such norm violation because “the consequences of having the vile opposition win the election are catastrophic.”
That's pretty much in a nutshell what is happening. The key is "othering" one's opponents.