I have a fever. I have been sick for a little over a week, along with my daughter. We had to do the Covid test, but Thankfully, it came back negative. However, I still have a fever, and my pulmonologist said I shouldn’t, and that 20% of the negative tests are actually false negatives. So after I finish this next round of antibiotics, if I still have a fever, he wants me to retest. So I think I’m fine, but I’m not entirely out of the woods. Whether or not I have the virus, I have something, which we have assumed is some type of flu.
I went to check the mail, which I have to do since my medications come that way, and I wore my mask. I didn’t wear gloves because gloves are even less helpful than a mask depending on how they are used. Once I touch anything outside of my car with them, including the mail, the gloves are potentially infected. I can’t touch anything until I get them off, and then I will still have to mail, and still have to go through the doffing procedure before touching my face, or anything else.
I was starting to get the mail as another car drove up, and I was reminded of the incident at the bank. At the bank I didn’t put in my card because I predicted accurately that the idiot behind me would not follow directions, so I moved to the waiting area myself and let him go first. I decided to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. I was mistaken.
He got out of his car as I was nervously trying to pull my mail out as quickly as possible so I could get in the car just in case he walked up next to me and not to the other end of the mail box section, which is where I hoped he was going since he was getting out of the car. He was not. He was going to the very next section, 3 feet away from me.
To his credit, he was wearing a mask. But I was still upset that he was standing so close to me. I decided to tell him, “Just so you know, I have a fever.” He said, “Oh, thank you for telling me, because I have a lung condition.” (Facepalm)
I said, “So do I,” and we parted ways.
But that’s not what I was thinking. What I was thinking, but not saying aloud, was the following:
“You, sir, are a complete moron. You are wearing a mask to protect yourself (and/or others), because you have an underlying lung condition, which makes you highly at risk. If you know that, why in the name of all things holy, would you walk up to somebody else wearing a mask three feet away? Why? Why not just wait a whole 60 seconds or so, for others to get their mail without exposing themselves to you, or being involuntarily exposed to you
He got into his car and drove away, and I got into mine and just shook my head.
Guys, this is not poker. You can’t just check or raise. You have to be ALL IN. Otherwise, I don’t see why you even bother taking any other precautions. It’s like walking around a body of water that you know has an electrical current in it, and deciding to stick your toe in it for just a minute. All of the steps you take AROUND the water are not going to help if you stick your toe in it, even once.
Please, if you are going to engage in safe practices, be all in. Get it right. This is one of those things for which you simply CANNOT cut corners.
Stay safe, people! 🙏🏽🌎🙏🏽
I'm Still Breathing! 