I’ve Been Sick for 100+ Days, and You’re Making Me Sad
A Case for Face Masks
Two questions were foremost in my mind as I walked up and down the aisles of Whole Foods yesterday: 1) Are the black lentils back in stock? 2) How many of my fellow shoppers — so many of them unmasked — will have to go through what I’m going through?
I’ve been sick from Covid-19 for sixteen weeks now. Seventeen weeks ago, I said things like, “I’m not worried for myself, but I really wouldn’t want to spread the virus to anyone older or immunocompromised.” Fifteen weeks ago, I stocked up on groceries and prepared to hunker down, to flatten the curve. If you’re paying attention to the weeks, then you’ve spotted the problem. Yes, as I made my final grocery runs in mid-March, I was already sick with Covid-19, though I didn’t know it. Like many others, I experienced a brief pause in my symptoms and thought I had recovered from whatever trifling respiratory virus I’d had.
I was wrong. I’ll never know what consequences that may have had for others. I wish I could undo every one of my unmasked exhalations. For me, the consequences of Covid-19 have been significant, ongoing, life-changing.
So as I walked through Whole Foods, I wanted to grab my unmasked fellow shoppers by the shoulders, gaze imploringly into their eyes, and say, “Please, protect yourself and…