Therapy was canceled today, that’s not a good thing. You know what else is not good? I didn’t go to last night’s Met game because the MTA asked people to avoid all unnecessary travel as they tried to recover from the storm. It was a beautiful day. I would have loved to go, the Mets won, but I didn’t want to be that guy that thinks he’s a VIP, so the rules don’t apply to him. I also don’t want to be the one that pats himself on the back, but I am. Good thing I didn’t throw my back out.
Yesterday’s weather was glorious, so I took the extra long walk, 4.6 miles. It’s Friday night and I have no plans; I’ll have to do that again today. I have no plans for the week. That’s not good. I’ll have to find something to do. On Thursday I’ll go to the Irish Session at Mary O’s. That’s six days away, I need to make plans before then. On the other hand, I have plans every day but one from September 10, Tucci Swing at The Porch, through September 19, the Brooklyn Americana Fest’s last day. Can I reshuffle the days to spread things out better? Then I can reshuffle the last year-and-a-half. What kind of bad planning does not allow for that? I’d like to speak to the management. Does reality have customer service? You want me to stop being an atheist? Let God install a help line with no waits and especially no recording message that “Your call is important to us.” Don’t even think of retorting, “There is, it’s call prayer.” That’s like a help that that connects and doesn’t even give you a recorded message You just have to have “faith” that your message has been heard. Damn, somebody might do that, there’s money to be made.
I have a few mask stories. Way back on July 5 I had an unpleasant encounter with cops on the subway that refused to wear masks. Here’s what I wrote about it then:
When I got to the D train station, I walked down the stairs and saw two cops without masks on. The law now is that you need to be masked in the subway system, trains, and stations. I was not afraid of getting COVID-19, I’ve been vaccinated and the infection rate in the city is miniscule. I was concerned that cops whose job is to enforce the law were breaking it. Nobody else in the station, other than me was masked. The compliance rate is not great up here in the north Bronx but it’s not zero. At each subsequent stop most of the people were masked. I blame the cops for that. People see the cops are unmasked and take that as permission for them not to.
As I came down the stairs I said, “Hey guys!” and pointed at my mask. I’ve found that works with most people. The cops ignored me so said, “Please put on your masks.” They didn’t. “It’s the law and it’s your job to enforce the law.” A replied, “We’re more than 6 feet away from you.” The mask law says nothing about how far away you are. What bothered me was their attitude. They felt no duty to follow the law and set a good example. I told them that I’d report them. They just gave me a look. I called 311 and they saw me call, but before I could navigate the menu the train came, and I boarded. Then I realized I should take a picture of them. I got a picture from a distance of one. The other then hid, and when he emerged, he was wearing his mask. I was bad and lambasted him and called him a coward and that he dishonored his uniform. As the train pulled out, they waved at me. I gave them the finger. I’m not proud of that. This morning I made an online report to the Civilian Complaint Review Board and included the picture of the first cop that came out. I didn’t think it would, but it’s clear enough to identify him.
A week later I heard back from the CCRB, they told me it wasn’t their bailiwick. They said they would pass it on to someone else. That’s the last I heard about until a few days ago, almost two months after I reported it. Then I got a call from a police officer from Internal Affairs. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about but finally figured out it was about that report I made two months prior. I got the date of the report from him and from that found the photo I took of the cop and then gave him details from the blog quoted above. Now to see if anything comes of that. What I really want is an apology and for the incident to appear on their permanent record. I’m find with them not being punished if they don’t go out of bounds again, but we need the record to know it’s a second offense. As for the apology I want to hear in their voices, and preferably see in their eyes that they know they were wrong.
I’ve had a few mask-related encounters with civilians recently that I haven’t written about. On the way home one night the young man next to me was playing with his mask instead of wearing it. I was going to say something when I noticed that the elastic had broken; it was a disposable surgical mask. I had my backpack with me, and I always keep spare masks in it. One is a disposable surgical mask. I gave it to the young man, and he wore it. I will try that again next time I see someone maskless and not carrying one. That must have been on Sunday as I replaced the mask I gave away when I went to the doctor on Monday. They give you a mask when you go in, but I was already wearing one of my cloth ones. I put the one they gave me into my bag, so I’d have one to give away.
On the ride home from the doctor the young Spanish-speaking man at the other end of my three-person bench was maskless. I tried to tell him that there was a container of free masks on the bus, but I couldn’t make him understand. A lovely young woman sitting across from us heard was happening and translated. He had a mask, put it on, and thanked me! Don’t assume that people not wearing a mask are terrible people. Sometimes they just forgot. I have been thanked before. Then someone got on the bus and sat between me and my new friend. He was not wearing a mask, and I told him about the free masks. He said, “I’m eating chocolate.” He had those small chocolate balls wrapped in foil. My new friend tried to tell him in Spanish, but it didn’t help. Sometimes the person without a mask is that guy that thinks he’s a VIP and the rules don’t apply to him. I feel better about my new Spanish-speaking friend, the lovely woman, and the young man I gave a mask to, than I feel bad about the chocolate eater. Acting self-righteous is self-defeating. It gives people not wearing a mask another reason not to, to stick it to the self-righteous person hectoring them. The same goes online. Mocking the maskless makes them less not more likely to start wearing a mask.
This week’s Gord’s Gold is now archived. As I was home, I listened, know something, it’s good. I’ve heard all the music before and still get amazed how good it is. It’s just like eating bacon or chocolate. Listen to it now and please consider subscribing if you can afford it. It’s only $3/month
Wise Madness 