FACE MASK, a True Story: Guest Post by Gay Toltl Kinman

GAY TOLTL KINMAN:
FACE MASK  (a true story)

We went grocery shopping when we received our surgical masks. It’s the consistency of a cardboard egg carton. (Am sure the surgical mask or the egg carton company would be happy to supply instructions on how to make one.) It rode up on my nose, pushing my glasses up. Finally got that arranged. The left lens of my glasses fogged up and stayed that way. No amount of wiping helped.

In the market, at the yogurt deli section, there was a cone on the floor saying Wet Floor. The smell of the cleaning fluid was strong, making me cough. I moved away, coughing—not a good idea when you are wearing a tight mask. Plus it’s the first sign of you-know-what. I did get apprehensive looks from the few people in the aisles who soon vanished.

I pulled the mask down—and it jabbed into my windpipe causing another coughing bout. It took me a few minutes to recuperate.

I pulled the mask up and poked around in the frozen food section. I started to feel faint. I realized it was the breathing in of my own carbon dioxide. I pulled the mask away again but the elastic was so tight that I couldn’t get it up on my face. I didn’t want to damage my windpipe any further. By pulling it off, my glasses went flying. Hard to find your glasses when you can’t see.

Finally got those back on, adjusted the mask, but had to lift it up every few minutes when I was about to faint.

The moral of the story is—(fill in the blank).

***

Gay Toltl Kinman has nine award nominations for her writing; several short stories in American and English magazines and anthologies; twelve children’s books and stories; a Y.A.Gothic novel; nine adult mysteries; and six collections of short stories. Several of her short plays were produced—now in a collection of twenty plays The Play’s the Thing; many articles in professional journals and newspapers; several Travel Diaries; and has coedited two non-fiction books. Kinman has library and law degrees.