The Mask

We took a bike ride to Hyde Park Village in South Tampa. Not a lot of social distancing going on. Let’s not tell anybody about that. People were out and having a good time. It was really nice.

We decided to grab some tacos at bartaco. There was a bench. We wiped it down with our Clorox wipes and took a seat. I love the fish tacos at bartaco. I ordered three and couldn’t wait to dive in. Dipped it in some hot sauce. The perfect mix. The perfect taco. In, it goes.

Wait. No! I had a face mask on. One of those gator masks you wear when you go fishing. My fish taco blocked on the way to my mouth by a mask. What a mess! Fish taco everywhere!

The face mask.  To wear one, or not?  In our new normal, a lot of us are covering our faces to avoid Coronavirus.  We are taking the advice of the CDC to help slow the spread.

I’m pretty much all-in with masks.  My only exception: exercising.  I just haven’t done that.  Not yet.  But… I can see myself doing it as this goes on. There are so many people out on Tampa’s Bayshore Blvd these days.  It just seems like the right thing to do—the right message to send.

Designer face masks are an interesting trend.  All the big names seem to be doing it?  Vogue has a piece called “92 Cloth Masks to Shop Now.”  Yep, it’s a thing.  St. John, Rag and Bone, and J. Crew made the list.

You can try making your own.  I won’t, but you can.  My dear friend Dixie June Vest in Paris, Texas says she has been swamped with requests.  She’s an excellent seamstress.  Venturing out to get fabric has been a problem.  She’s managing.

The face mask.  Slowing the spread of Coronavirus.  A fashion statement, too. Now, to be clear, some of the big fashion houses are making masks and donating them to health care workers.  Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Chanel are putting their “fashion muscle” into face masks.  That’s according to CNN Business.

When the worst of this passes though, what will we be doing?  I think the mask is going to be here for awhile.  The new fashion accessory.  I can hear it now when we start having award shows and red carpets again.  Ryan Seacrest asks, “Who are you wearing?  Who designed the mask?”  Celebrity of the Day responds,  “Tom Ford.”

I just googled “Tom Ford Mask.”  Apparently, he’s not in the game yet.  The search result is “Tom Ford Intensive Purifying Mud Mask.”

I think I’m on to something here.  Designer face masks.  Proceeds to health care workers and first responders.  I want that mask.  Now, if I can just learn to take it off when I’m eating a fish taco…