Not a Safe Line

Do you think it’s safe to stand in line these days? I thought so until I asked the woman in front of me if she could please move up. Unhinged. She became unhinged. She’d been blissfully unaware the line had advanced while she was preoccupied with her cell phone. First she yelled that I was stupid. But then she got really close and screamed that I was sooo ugly. Having heard just that morning that the virus can be spread via respiration, I muttered, “Psycho,” and tried to ignore her. She pulled out her phone again and started taking photos of me still ignoring her as she continued shouting “get away from me!”

I later went into quarantine and consulted with various nurses and public health officials how to proceed. I advised this particular store it should consider line monitors on hand in the future. I am grateful we both were wearing masks because she might have put others in line at risk.

The investment banker Goldman Sachs urges that a face-covering mandate would cut new coronavirus cases ultimately down to 0.6 percent. It would be a start. A start to put a stop to this deadly, deadly virus so many fail to encompass.