Running To Stand Still

 I've been working during this time to stay in shape, very aware of the "COVID-19." Not the disease so much as the nineteen pounds that seem to accompany the stay at home-ness. There's so much more time to sit on the couch and consider the various flavors of Lay's potato chips that have yet to be sampled. What else were you going to do? You're all caught up with The Crown. And who's going to notice on Zoom that you're wearing your sweatpants a little tighter around the waist?

I've been running. I've been losing weight. I've become preoccupied with the maintenance end of my health. Which means going outside. Which might possibly be more unhealthy than all those varieties of Lay's potato chips. But it's keeping the blues away. No worries if I keep my mask on right?

Except for all those other humans out there disregarding the mask mandate. As long as I keep moving, ducking and dodging I should be okay. I can outrun germs, right? Well there's this image of the thirty foot slipstream of germs trailing behind me and anyone else spewing their exhalations as they run. That´s me, making that potential river of germs. 

And everyone else who may have chosen the path I have chosen. The ones who are out there, exercising their hearts, lungs, legs, and their freedoms. The ones who are not wearing masks. 

Look, I get what a drag it is to strap a piece of cloth over your nose and mouth just before you go out and test your capacity for breathing. Back in April, I absently left the house without my mask. I was a few blocks away before I noticed that there was a breeze on my face that hadn't been there the day before. I cut that run short. Since then, I've been covering my nose and mouth every time I leave my front yard. And secretly judging every human I encounter as I jog around my neighborhood. And I can't figure out how there is still this preponderance of "healthy types" who continue to bike, run, walk and otherwise move around a world with those thirty foot tides of bacteria. Including those who believe they are out there being healthy by pushing their masks up onto their collective noses and mouths. For a second as we pass, and then I assume they pull them back down to their chin to continue on their way. 

Me? I'm keeping my mask on. Yes, it's clammy and more than a little claustrophobic, but given the alternative, it's not so bad. Maybe I could figure out how to scent it with sour cream and cheddar. Then I'd have the whole package.