I guess the first masked man that most of us Boomers came upon was the Lone Ranger accompanied by his Native American (we called Indian) sidekick, Tonto. And his white stallion, Silver.

That was back in the ’50s.

Today, you can’t go too far without seeing many masked men and women.

Eileen and I traveled up to New York by plane, and despite both of us having been duly vaccinated and negatively tested, we wore N95 masks and face shields as we ventured in the friendly skies.

It wasn’t fun.

God Bless healthcare workers who wore these masks for twelve-hour shifts day after day as they tended to the sick. I can’t imagine any group of people who want to return to normal than these people.

I found the wearing of these N95 masks to be painful and an ordeal for the few hours of flying and waiting in the airport, and I only had to do it once going and then again coming home.

I will, however, do it again as the alternative is less appealing.

Wearing the typical surgical masks is nothing compared to wearing the N95 in terms of discomfort, and it is no big deal to wear one as I do my daily chores or go to our restaurant here in our development. 

We can, of course, remove our masks when our drinks come as well as our meals. Our wait staff continues to wear their masks, and we are happy they do.

Warren G Harding promised a Return To Normalcy in the 1920 election. It had nothing to do with the Spanish Flu that was ravaging America at that time. It was more a reflection of kicking Woodrow Wilson’s ass (and his wife’s) out of the White House.

There was no such word as “normalcy” at the time as the correct term was normality, but that didn’t stop old Warren, but neither did the Teapot Dome scandal or hiding floozies in the White House closets. Normalcy ended for Harding when he died of an apparent heart attack two years into his presidency.

Notwithstanding Harding’s poor choice of words and untimely death, the desire to return to a usual way of living is something we all can hope to achieve in the coming months.

COVID fatigue is real.

Politics aside, no one wants to stay shut up in their locked-down abode anymore. There are baseball games and barbecues to attend and family gatherings by the score that needs to be held, and grandfathers and grandmothers who need their families at their side.

It’s all coming soon, but, like Christmas, we can’t rush it, and we still have to wear the mask.

Stay well. Be safe.