Wednesday April 15, 2020; 9:35 AM EDT
- From a friend in the city...#
I just woke up about an hour ago, and really needing coffee and a bagel, so I put on my mask and went to my nearby bakery. Three people were inside, none wearing masks; I waited for two to leave then stepped in carefully. The remaining customer was a middle-aged woman who seemed to be speaking in great detail to the worker helping her, and getting very close to be heard, maybe 3 feet. The employees were all wearing masks (the crappy surgical mask type) but she wasn't. Then she went to pay and checkout and seemed to have another intensive conversation at 3 feet away from the employee at the register.#- I thought I probably should have said something, I was still three quarters asleep at that point, but what should I have done in that situation? Did that woman already get sick and figured she didn't need to be careful? Was she a Trump supporter who wanted to flaunt the rules? Something in-between, or just a jerk? #
- Help me figure out what I should do the next time that happens, maybe you can crowdsource this to your readers? I want to clearly communicate to that person that her mouth is a lethal weapon, and that the bakery employees didn't deserve to be "shot at" just to be paid their 12 or 15 bucks an hour... but, you know, nicely. Thanks. #
- Silver lining: that bagel was amazing, something about the 0.001% chance of dying really makes it that much better!#
- If you have an idea post a note here. Here are a couple of mine. #
- My fantasy answer comes from having ridden a bike in urban areas for many years. I dream of carrying a can of red spray paint with me, and when someone comes too close with their car and I have to slam on the brakes to avoid getting run over, I whip out the paint and put a red stripe on their fender or bumper. Then they would have to explain to friends and family how they got the red stripe. Shitty drivers would end up with lots of them.#
- I have to admit I once hit a guy's car with a stick on Mountain Home Road in Woodside. They get very upset when you touch their car. But he was in my space, I had to move out of his way to avoid getting hit. There was no reason for it, no car on the other side of the double-yellow lines. He was either really sloppy or trying to fuck with me. He pulled over, started coming toward me, and then stopped, presumably when he saw I was much larger than him. The car gives you a sense of size-of-body that isn't realistic. I told him to get back in his car and drive away, which he did. I may have actually dreamed this, not sure.#