It was an ordinary day. Just getting ready to throw away several of my masks that I have worn over the past couple of years in an attempt to ward off my getting COVID-19. A few of them were made by Cindy Grebinger who is the wife of my boss Keith who owns Grebinger Gallery in nearby Neffsvile, PA. I worked until a few months ago and then had to retire since it was becoming tougher to stand for hours at a time while doing matting and framing for Keith at his business. When COVID-19 first struck in December of 2019 the gallery began to lose business since most everyone tried to avoid contact with one another. To compensate for the loss of framing business, Cindy began to make masks, using her skills at her sewing machine at the gallery to continue to bring in customers. She had a fantastic variety of masks that featured sports teams to fabrics that were associated with colleges, animals and just about anything else you could imagine.
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| Cindy's masks |
Her masks had several layers of fabric and were stitched to cover your face from the top of your nose to your chin. They were very comfortable and easy to keep on your face while working as well as talking with customers. You could fasten them behind your ears or behind you head. She provided me with a variety of choices and when they began to look a bit rugged, she gave me another one. Even gave me masks to bring home to my wife. We wore them all the time since with all my medical problems, the last thing I wanted was to get COVID-19. Might not be typing this story had I come down with the virus. Well, eventually we found that using an N95 mask, made with a special fabric, was better than just home-made masks, even with multiple layers such as Cindy's masks where made from.
My wife Carol ordered a couple of boxes of black masks and we have been wearing them ever since. We feel at times like we are the only ones wearing them, but with approaching surgery for my back, I just can't afford to somehow get the virus and miss my surgery. It has been well over a year that I have begun trying just about anything and everything to help with the pain in my back and not long ago I had the chance to try a test run with the Boston Scientific Spinal Cord Stimulator. Worked pretty well so I made an appointment to have it inserted in my back permanently. Only problem is that many others also want the same thing so I have to wait my turn in line. And...I couldn't afford to become ill with COVID-19. So, even though Carol and I are only a few of those who wear masks anymore at the grocery store or who wear masks at Walmart or who wear masks at other department stores or even wear masks when we go to pick-up our pizza at the neighborhood pizza shop, we just don't want to get COVID-19 and miss my trip to the hospital for back surgery. The other day I went around the house and through the car and picked up the masks that we no longer wear for protection since all we wear anymore at the N95 masks. Hate to throw them out since we may be able to wear them in the future for something else, but are not needed right now. Put them all in a box and put them in a cabinet in my office "just in case!" Just how long we will continue to wear the masks remains to be seen, but we feel safer with them in place since the person next to us in the grocery store or at the gas station might have COVID-19 and have touched the same shopping cart or the gas pump and there goes my chance for a better life with a back operation. So when you see someone with a mask on during your next visit somewhere and if you believe that you will never get the virus anymore even thought it is still everywhere, you can go ahead and make fun of them, or Carol and I, all you want, but we feel safe wearing the masks! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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