I remember the first day I put on a mask. It was April 12 of last year. My son’s birthday.
The reason I remember it, though, is because of where I got the mask. I have allergies that really bother me if I’m outside cutting my lawn or doing any type of gardening. So every year, I’d buy a surgical mask so I could use it whenever I was around outdoor allergens.
So I went out into the cupboard in our “we-dump-everything-here” foyer and there it was — an N95 mask. I didn’t know one mask from another, so I put it on and we went to our son’s house so we could have a socially-distant celebration.
At this point, there was no mask mandate, but the vibe was out there. Wearing a mask couldn’t hurt in preventing COVID-19. My N95 mask, apparently, was the gold standard, and everyone was jealous because I had one.
If you recall, masks — like a lot of things — were scarce one month into the pandemic that turned us all into hermits. But it wasn’t too long before masks became de rigeur among people who took this virus seriously — so much so that I went into Walgreens one Sunday afternoon to pick up a prescription, and there was a person there who didn’t have a mask on. I glared at that person, and then immediately felt terrible.
“Good God,” I said to myself, “am I going to turn into one of those people?”
But before we could start begging “mask-maker, mask-maker, make me a mask,” we found out we could make our own. All we needed was cloth, scissors, and some rudimentary sewing skills (which left me out). You could even use old socks.
And then masks went from being a medical component to a fashion statement. We even ran an entire page of people in their makeshift masks.
And what happens when ideas take off like that? Businesses glom onto them. For the longest time, I wore a “Dunkin’ Donuts” mask. My wife gave me a newspaper-motif mask, as well as one that sings the “King George” refrain from “Hamilton.” We had people who wore masks to match their office attire. We’ve had them sent to us through the mail.
Masks have become conversation pieces. Cities and towns have instituted mask mandates. You can’t walk into any business establishment without one (which is probably a good thing).
It wasn’t just masks. A lot of habits changed. Walking down the beach was discouraged by the presence of chicken-wire fencing and spaced-out parking. My wife and I took to walking through the Pine Grove Cemetery and on the campus of St. John’s Prep — quiet, secluded spots where we weren’t likely to bump elbows with people.
All of a sudden, going to the market became a chore. Naturally, you needed a mask. But at my Stop & Shop on Boston Street, there were lines outside, and once you got in there was an elaborate station with different hand sanitizers and wipes. The message was pretty clear. Wash up!
I remember the last “non-COVID” function I went to was last March 14, when I went to a children’s birthday party. We decided that when we sang “Happy Birthday,” we’d all wash our hands.
But you couldn’t find a bottle of hand sanitizer anywhere. Nor could you find toilet paper. That was one of the great mysteries of this pandemic. People had the same mentality as with blizzards, only instead of stocking up for three days, they stocked up for three months.
Through it all, we’ve persevered, haven’t we? Sure, we had some fools who decided that health directives weren’t meant to be followed. And there’s little doubt in my mind that those fools have helped keep this thing going long after any of us thought it would.
But for the most part, we’ve worn our masks. We’ve distanced ourselves. We’ve held drive-by parades for loved ones who turn 100. We’ve improvised high school graduations and class reunions. We’ve willingly postponed weddings until such times as they could be enjoyed. We’ve all been affected, one way or another, by COVID protocols that — when they come close enough to touch us — seem callous and cruel (our family can certainly speak to that).
We’ve gone from “normal” to the “new normal” to “nothing will ever be normal again.” But we’re in a position, one year later, where we can at least see a path to its conclusion. People are getting vaccination shots, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has relaxed some restrictions. Maybe this nightmare is winding down.
But when it does, I hope we all take a few minutes to contemplate what this has cost, because it has left no one unscathed.