Maybe the masks ain’t so bad…
I never thought I’d say this, but I may be starting to almost like wearing a mask. Not all the time, of course, but I definitely don’t mind it as much as I used to when this whole pandemic thing started.
Like many cold-climate denizens, I’ve found that the mask is the perfect face insulator when you’re scraping ice off your windshield in the morning. I’ve never been one to wear a scarf (too posh) or a ski mask (too scary), so I’ve always just put up with having rosy cheeks and maybe some mild frostbite. But a simple COVID mask does the trick when the windchill starts to get near zero degrees or below. Since it’s already strapped to your face for health reasons, you don’t have to add it your winter wardrobe.
I’ve also discovered that the inside of the mask doesn’t always have to smell like a musty can of tuna. In fact, it can smell rather pleasant if you pick the right one. Every once in awhile, for example, I’ll grab one of the masks my wife has been wearing, and I’ll get a whiff of her perfume whenever I put it over my nose. Talk about a nice pick-meup in the middle of the day. However, I do feel a little bad if she picks up one of my masks and has to inhale my fragrancefree mouth odor.
Completely by accident, I’ve also discovered that spilling just a little bit of coffee on your mask can really improve its smell. Afterward, it’s like holding a cup of java just under you chin and letting the aroma waft into your nostrils. I think Starbucks could really cash in on a line of coffee-scented masks. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work as well with other beverages, especially beer or soda, which tend to lose their scent once they settle into the fabric.
I’ve also come to appreciate the feel of a good cloth mask on the skin, like a tiny security blanket for your face. The term “chin diaper” has been used a lot to describe the masks, and during the more humid days of summer, I totally agreed with that description. Whenever I would sweat just a little, I couldn’t wait to tear the thing off my face. Now that the temps are down into the 20s and below, and the air is much drier, I don’t mind that layer of cloth as much.
My comfort level with the once-dreaded mask has gotten a little weird at times. More than once, while home for my lunch break, I’ve unconsciously kept my mask on even though I’m in my own house, with either my wife or no one at all in the room. If Linda is there, she’ll say “You know, you can take that off now.” Mind you, she’s the one who used to have to remind me to put it on in the first place.
Still, when this virus is finally under control, I’m looking forward to ceremoniously burning one or two masks — when they’re not on my face, of course.
OUT FOR A WALK
KEVIN O’BRIEN
EDITOR
