“Who was that masked man?” used to universally refer to a cowboy hero who rode with his unmasked (uh-oh!) Native American assistant to preserve law and order out West. But that was before 2020. Now we all wear masks and Instragram is loaded with companies that keep us hip and attractive while we are covering our faces. So many choices. Match your outfit! Hundreds of designs! Pick your colors!

Can we laugh at the absurdity of being told to wash our hands because we might actually die or kill someone else? What about the less lethal issues with being masked like a drippy nose, your own yucky breath or the challenge of wearing lipstick? I say yes. Laugh in spite of it all. I see the horror and fear and grief and a decimated economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I call it the Damdemic. I also see the absurd comic result of the crushing of our daily lives in the Twister game from Hell we play at to shop and checkout at the grocery store. We look at our feet to make sure we are 6 feet from other shoppers. What was the first shortage that quickly became dear? Toilet paper. Signs limiting one package per person. REALLY? Rumors of using vodka to substitute for hand sanitizer. What about the international he said/she said that cruelly gives us mixed messages when we critically need clarity? Mask or no mask? All under control or teetering on the brink of a worldwide plague? How many people can gather? 10? 25? 50? Will this loss of lifestyle be resolved in the near future with a vaccine? Where are the experts and who to trust?

So yeah. I will keep washing my hands, using hand sanitizer and wearing a mask. I think the term social distance is an oxymoron, but I will observe it when indoors and change my daily routines. Other than that, I will be uses my lens of humor to stay sane and carry on.