I stood in line in front of the hospital, doing my best to
stay six feet away from someone who felt the need to scream into their phone. I
was listening to a book, so ignoring the noise wasn’t difficult. Then the
phrase, “useless pricks handing out masks and sanitizer” pulled me out of the story.
Caught off guard by the speaker’s lack of respect for people
risking their health and lives so that we risk our own a bit less, I found myself
facing the person, and saying, “Wow!” very loudly (I blame my loudness on my headphones *cough*).
The person ended the call and took a couple of steps towards
me. Her face was flushed. For an insane second, I thought I was about to get punched
right in the face mask. But no, the individual simply said, “I know, right?” and
went on to explain why the hospital staff screening patients at the door were a
“plague of useless, socialists getting in the way of things.”
I looked past the speaker, stared at the nurse taking people’s
temperatures, and said, “The world is just full of useless and ungrateful
assholes.” The person actually nodded, as if I were agreeing with them (Some people’s children!).
The nurse didn’t smile or wink, but I think her eyes
softened above her mask.