Stoker and I consume wine, and since we have ridden many tandem miles on the ‘Route Touristique des Cotes du Rhone’ we have an affinity for bottles from this region. And our local Raley’s in Morada has quite a selection. But their inventory is no match for our moderate, but daily, consumption.
So I went to the Raley’s in Lodi and found many our our favorites in stock, but after a few trips I cleaned out that store too.
Yesterday I went to Elk Grove for an abdominal ultrasound. I do this every six months, and someday I may write a blog as to why. The results were normal, as they have been for the last decade.
On the drive home I decided to stop at the Raley’s in Galt, and sure enough the shelf of Cote du Rhone vin rouge was well stocked. I bought a couple of cases to take home.
Now I suppose you could call me both a ‘mask denier’ and a ‘mask complier’. I don’t think that the cloth masks or light paper masks that most of us wear are very effective at doing anything but making us uncomfortable and irritated. The University of Waterloo in England found that the paper masks you purchase in drug stores only block 12% of virus particles, and cloth masks are even worse at 10%. N95 medical masks are better at something over 60%. That is what the study found; don’t blame me.
But I am also a mask complier. I follow the rules without argument and without much complaint. And certainly without any confrontations. Mask up for 22 hours in airports and on flights to get to France? Ok! It is so nice you allow me to remove it to enjoy the wonderful food and beverage service in Air France Business Class. Americans eat their meals way too fast for good digestion, and the ‘masks allowed off while dining’ rule is a real incentive to rectify that.
The sign outside the Raley’s stores in both Morada and Lodi says “Masks are optional for fully vaccinated individuals”. That would be me, so I go around shopping maskless.
But the Raley’s in Galt has a sign saying “Masks required for all shoppers while inside the store”. So I put mine on without complaint. Yesterday compliance was pretty high, but there were about 10% of shoppers who were bare faced. I was irritated by this. Why do I have to follow the rules and not them? Why doesn’t someone from the store enforce the mandate?
It is about 15 miles from the Raley’s in Galt to the ones in Lodi and Morada. Why is the policy different? I know the answer, different counties and jurisdictions. But is there any logic to the difference? Especially in light of that aforementioned study.
Our politicians like to make rules for us, but they are not so good at following them. Here is the latest:
San Francisco’s mask mandate states, “Everyone, including people who are fully vaccinated, must wear a well-fitted mask in indoor public settings at all times,” and adds, “people may remove their well-fitted mask while actively eating or drinking.”
Mayor London Breed was seen partying and singing maskless in a nightclub with a Black Lives Matter co-founder, breaking her city’s mask mandate.
Pelosi, Newsom, Breed, the list of unmasked hypocrite dictators is long. They don’t seem to be worried about being unmasked. Are they not ‘following the science’? Or are masks only for the unwashed masses, not the political and economic elite?
Why can we just admit that masks don’t work, and if you want to wear one to ‘protect’ yourself, go ahead. I don’t understand why I have to wear one to protect someone who is afraid of unmasked people. If vaccines work, and if you think masks work, then get vaccinated and cover your face and you will be fine, whatever I do. If they don’t work, then why are we being pressured to do both?
And before you start to argue with me about being a Trump supporting anti vax-er, remember I got my shots as soon as I could, thinking I would need them to get to travel to France. I was right about that. And I’m following the silly mask rules because I don’t want to be seen as anti social or irresponsible or get into any unnecessary confrontations. So I’m a complying denier, or a denying complier.
The erosion of freedoms and watching the executive branch of government assume powers it does not constitutionally have certainly concern me. But I think the right to purchase and consume Cote du Rhone vin rouge will still be around, for a while at least. When that goes, I’ll join the revolution.
Rich Freggiaro Cycling Blog 