Dear Emily

Oh Emily Post, where are you now when I need you.

The lines of polite communication are so blurred,I don’t know any more when I cross into forbidden territory.

Yesterday I encountered a friend, who greeted me with a spontaneous hug. Then I realized she was wearing a mask.

Smiling, she calmly said, ”John had covid last week.”

John is her husband and to the best of my knowledge they still share a domicile.

Cringing visibly I wondered why she had greeted me with such physical affection, but remained silent.

I really wanted to ask, (politely, of course) ‘Jean, Then why have you touched me?”

When I enter my favorite diner and one or two of the servers are masked, I wonder if it is because of Covid, an allergy or possibly anxiety?

Dare I ask?

Or better to avoid the diner?

Oh Emily, it is indeed a quandary, and I don’t know if or how it will ever end.

Yesterday I was guilty myself of not reading a discrete notice on the entrance to a legal facility. Understandably, I was initially denied entrance.

Thanking the young receptionist and appreciating her caution, I entered the office but only after donning the proffered fragile paper mask.

However when my appointment concluded and I returned to the waiting room, another client was reading a magazine and maskless,

When I quietly questioned the receptionist, she shrugged and said, “Everyone won’t cooperate, It is a difficult time.”

And I could not help but agree with her viewpoint,

The rules seem to be static or possibly fluctuating,

My temperature was taken this a.m. before my manicure.

Later in the afternoon I was reminded to “mask up” before seeing my PT instructor.

And I dare to wonder……

Is it rude to avoid sitting near those who are masked in church or synagogue?

Is it presumptuous to believe they have had a degree of exposure to something?

And will there be segregated counters in coffee shops; one for masked and the other for unmasked coffee addicts?

However, I am hopeful and believe today that in some secluded garret, a new, young, but equally wise version of the astute Emily Post is hurriedly scribbling a revised book of Covid etiquette.

Because we need one now more than ever. Also, perhaps if he or she has time, possibly two volumes to cover all potential situations with appropriate courtesy.