2020 – Public Maskerbation
(Ignore May 1, 2017 publish date – this was published on April 24, 2020)
Way back on March 10 – a whole six weeks ago – I posted a picture on a local site I moderate of the first person I saw outside my living room window wearing an anti-virus mask (http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,3922.0.html). I mentioned that I hoped it wouldn’t become commonplace, but that I had a feeling it would.
Unfortunately-prescient little buzzard, aren’t I?
The thread was titled, “Masked citizens – the Coronavirus” and it’s become the repository for everything local that’s Covid-related, including local notices, cartoons and the “Coronavirus on Main St, Anytown, USA” post on this blog on March 30.
When it came time for me get a mask, I immediately went to Old Reliable – eBay – and researched hundreds of offerings. Most were from China, but buying from the country that sent us the problem was the last thing I wanted to do. After a while, I found one that seemed OK from a seller in LA for $9.99 with free shipping.
I bought it on April 3 and it was to arrive by April 13.
It didn’t.
It still hasn’t.
A good friend had mentioned to me that she was making masks and hooked me up (Thanks, E!). Meanwhile, I found out that the company WAS from China and had scammed eBay and thousands of unmasked U.S. residents (over 2,000 at last count).
You know how it’s a bad thing when you get a negative feedback on eBay? I checked this company’s feedback page and, as of this morning, they’ve received 278 negative feedbacks in the last month! And all with the same complaint: no delivery, phony USPS tracking numbers that all lead to info that the packages were last scanned on April 8 and never made it out of……………..Dayton, Ohio?
I’ll get my money back, but – jeez – how slimy can a company get? And shame on eBay for also getting scammed.
So with that problem “solved” and my face covered, I suddenly realized – out of nowhere – that I had a mask back in the 80s that would be perfect: it fit my face from the nose down and it also fit my profession and my personality.
The only pictures I have of it (and of me wearing it) were published in the 1986 post here, which I began by writing about a legendary guy (and friend) in the music business and then going right into the mask: https://iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com/?p=726 – trust me……….you don’t wanna miss these pix.
I knew I never threw it out, but hadn’t seen it in ages, so I spent yesterday afternoon hunting it down………….and found it!……………but it’s not quite in the same condition:
I guess if you were stuffed in a drawer or closet for the last 34 years, you’d be a dehydrated hard lump too.
I’ve searched high and low online for another one…………….nada.
So if you happen to know where one might be for sale or if you have a sure-fire way to re-animate this hard lump back into a soft rubber mask (most of the online suggestions are iffy), please post it in the comments.
Thanks and DO maskerbate safely when you’re out in public.
Try some olive oil lol
E — she’s so great!