A Southern summer is upon us. You can smell jasmine in the air. In this Time of Coronavirus, the days seem to creep by slower and more deliberately. First up: watering the garden right after breakfast because later in the day would be miserable; temperatures soar past 90 and the humidity is at extreme beach hair levels.
I’m feeling confined again, not just from this pandemic but also from the Nashville weather.
Luckily, Bob and I did manage to get out of the house this past holiday weekend. The Bride and Groom were cooking hot dogs and veggie burgers so we sat on one side of their expansive front porch. Two old grandparents in a pair of rocking chairs! After a week of hugs and kisses in Florida I’m bereft, we are again consigned to making a beating heart with our fingers and blowing kisses. Our first socially distant Fourth of July.
Even in the shade, and with fans whirring above our heads, sweat ran down my back. Even their two rescue dogs snuck back into the cool, air-conditioned house, abandoning food and family on the porch.
The real excitement came earlier in the day while I was assembling a vegetable tart. The Bride texted me – “I’m going to West Elm to look at rugs, wanna come?”
You betcha! A big, beautiful store? Why I haven’t been inside anything but a Whole Foods in months, during “senior” hours. Bob gave me his quizzical look, the one that says do you really want to risk your life over a bunch of tchotchkes? But I DID. I wanted to get out of the house, alone in the car for awhile, and wander around this hip, modern furniture store on the fancy side of town. With my daughter. Wearing masks of course. And it was delightful.
Everyone in the store was wearing a mask, and it was very early so there were just a few customers. The soaring ceiling gave me an extra level of comfort. I sat in swivel chairs. I picked up dishes even though a sign said “touchless shopping” was appreciated. Mea Culpa. We looked at rugs, all kinds of rugs; some with wool from New Zealand and some that resembled a Jackson Pollock painting. We were looking for an 8×10 to go into her new library – shelves had been built after all, and she wanted a cozy rug.
A soft, cozy rug to entice her little digital natives to curl up with a book.
But then I spotted one man in the store, walking around holding a mask in his hand. It wasn’t on his chin, or over his mouth right under his nose, which is another pet peeve. I guess he was too lazy to actually put it on on his face? He trailed behind his wife and a store employee, both in masks, and I had such a visceral feeling of contempt. Is he stupid? Does he feel like the rules – specifically for a mask mandate in public – don’t apply to him? He was not abiding by this social contract, he was threatening all our lives.
My daughter had just finished an evening shift in the ER, she had worn an N95 the night before for eight hours straight, and we were wearing our homemade cloth masks in the store. Our first time in a store. The least he could do was #MaskUp. To be clear, most people in Nashville are now wearing masks in public. We are still in the business of making masks for neighbors, in fact, the Grands like to count the number of masks they see whenever they ride in a car.
I really wanted to confront the mask-in-hand man, but I just steered clear. After all, what if he was a “Florida Man?” What if he started yelling at me, accusing me of taking away his freedom? What if he called the police? After all I’m a “Jersey Girl” so I wouldn’t back away from a fight.
I wonder, is a “Florida Man” the male equivalent of a “Karen?” I know lots of lovely Karens and hate this sobriquet for a middle-aged, white entitled woman; it seems like just another sexist remark. Maybe we should all stop using mean, stereotypical words to describe the human race!
Besides I just finished a Qigong class with my Florida man via Zoom. He lives in Gainesville and is absolutely kind and generous! I’m sure he wears a mask in public. And now I have to set up the yoga mats for Pilates Zoom with Bob.
Come to think of it, this hazy, lazy summer is starting to get busy!
MountainMornings 
After I wrote about my telling someone to wear his mask, a friend reminded me it was a good thing he wasn’t “carrying.” This was in PA. My 92 year old father gave me an earful about how I shouldn’t confront people. NJ is dialing back.. so we’re in for a long haul. take care.
My cousin in Richmond said the same thing, concealed carry is definitely a concern! It didn’t even enter my mind. I’m so ready for this madness to be over. Stay well Lisa
It was my brother’s 70th b-day on the 5th and we went over for a drive-by birthday. We didn’t just drive by. I had made his favorite cake as a gift and dropped it off. I totally get how fed up people are with rules and regulations regarding this awful pandemic. It’s getting very, VERY, old. few people wear masks here. We really don’t have very high numbers. It’s sitting at 20 something as I write. But yesterday it was reported an employee at a grocery store had tested positive. I am trying to get a grip. After all there are around 80,000 people in the city I call home, so twenty-something is a pretty small number as statistics go. But still, it only takes one to infect a lot of people. I still wear my mask when out in public. I may be a nervous Nelly but I prefer to act on the side of caution.
I’m an absolute nervous Nelly! It’s very easy to get complacent now, but the numbers are going up all across the southern states. When you think that most people are asymptomatic, it’s frightening. Stay well and happy birthday to your brother!
Thanks so much. Yes, we watch the news and it’s really quite shocking what’s happening there. Stay well – sometimes being a nervous Nelly is a good thing.