As I get ready to file my column, a Judge in Florida has lifted the mask mandate on airplanes, trains, buses and other public transportation. People were shown on television tossing their masks into garbage bags flight attendants were bringing down the aisle after the announcements were made on planes in flight. Some thoughts.
Why did the airline attendants bring garbage bags down the aisle of airplanes collecting masks. Not so much that they were rejoicing about the judges ruling. They didn’t want to in their cleaning of the plane (seatbacks, seats, airplane floor, etc.) have to pick up masks, many germ filled that passengers left on the plane.
Let’s face it. People have been pigs dropping their masks anywhere and everywhere on the ground. It got so bad a doctor friend of mine had to put a sign up telling people not to throw their masks on the ground of the parking lot at her office.
In terms of flight attendants, though many are rejoicing that they won’t have to serve as ‘mask policemen or policewoman’ anymore, many people particularly with health conditions will continue to wear masks. Many will object to those around them who are not masked. So in my opinion, the job of flight attendants and ground personnel will get even more complex as some people will only wanted to be seated next to people who are masked.
This all reminds me of what goes on regarding nuts on an airplane. People have been known to go on a plane and tell flight crews they must alert people in the rows around them that no one can consume nuts. If a member of my family had an allergy to nuts that was that bad, I simply would not let them fly on a plane. Just like if you have a nut allergy and go to eat at a restaurant. You never know if nuts have touched the pots your food was cooked in or the plates it is served on. So if you care about a loved one you avoid the situation completely.
If you are riding the New York City subways, you would, no pun intended be nuts not to continue wearing a mask. Sadly, the mask is probably your best friend. It’s quite dirty down there, rats running along the tracks searching for food that the same pig who dropped their mask on the grounds of the doctors office above threw on the train tracks. The same goes for any other mode of public transportation where people are packed together one on top of another.
The lifting of the mask mandate by the Florida judge also tells you something about the state of the Judiciary in America. This lawsuit was filed in July 2021. Yes around 8 months ago. For such an important topic like this it took the Federal Courts 8 months to issue a ruling? Just another sign that justice in this country is incredibly slow, even when it affects millions of people nationwide. I would laugh if the judge blamed Covid for the delay in the ruling.
With Zoom and all the powerful tools the Court System has available to it, this ruling should have been issued much earlier, not on the day the mask order was intended to expire before it’s extension to early May due to new variants and increases in the number of people reported to have Covid.
With all due respect to those involved in preparing reports on the numbers of people with Covid, all along the numbers have been meaningless. We see this now with the millions of test kits that the government has sent out so that people can check for themselves whether or not they have the virus. There is nothing that comes with these tests that require you to report a positive test. So who knows how many people really have Covid.
You wouldn’t go to the beauty parlor and tell your mates under the hair dryer that you just tested positive for Covid with one of those home tests. So the really important gauge is the number of people hospitalized with Covid symptoms which fortunately in most areas of the country has not gone up. We know much more about the disease now, there are great pharmaceuticals that can cut the isolation period and symptoms, and we seem to be heading in the right direction with Covid.
Am I going to mask up if I have the occasion to take public transportation, let’s say from a Bronx connection to the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn where the most efficient way to get there is by New York subway? I think so. I haven’t been on a plane since February 2020, the month before the Covid crisis began. If I were to fly now until things calmed down I would probably mask up not knowing the vaccine or health status of the people around me.
They say Covid exposure time is being in someone’s close proximity for 15 minutes or more. I know of very few plane rides less than 15 minutes, so the mask would stay on as long as possible. If I was coming home to an elderly relative or a child with health issues, I would definitely mask up. You could expose them to what you were exposed to.
If you take public transportation or are a frequent flyer, I think a good conversation with your primary physician is in order. Most importantly, please don’t judge those people who do or don’t wear masks on the various modes of public transportation. Isn’t the option to wear or not wear a mask what those people who fought against mask mandates are fighting for?
Yonkers High School Class of 1972 (and ‘70, ‘71 and ‘73) Reunion
I’m a third generation Yonkers Public Schools graduate. With Covid so many High School reunions throughout the country were put on hold. That’s why I am excited to tell you that the Yonkers High School Class of 1972 50th Anniversary Reunion (my sister’s graduating class) will take place Sunday, June 26, 2022 from 2-6 pm at Artie’s Steak and Seafood on City Island. Restaurant owner John Skeadas, YHS ‘72 will be the host for the event at the restaurant, 394 City Island Avenue. $50 for a sumptuous buffet? You can’t beat the price. A Cash Bar will be featured.
What makes this reunion so special? The Yonkers Public Schools are One Happy Family! Students from Yonkers, Gorton, Lincoln, Saunders , Commerce and Roosevelt High Schools CLASSES OF 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973 Are Cordially Invited to Join the Celebration!
Tell your friends. Tell Your Current and Former Neighbors. Tell your siblings and other relatives. This event will be the party of the century and you will have the opportunity to celebrate with your friends from throughout the City of Yonkers High Schools.
Questions. Email Carrie Schoen at carriejschoen@gmail.com with questions and contact information for students who will want to attend. Your help in finding students in the above classes will be appreciated.
Checks DUE BY JUNE 1. Send your check PAYABLE TO JOHN SKEADAS with name, address and phone number to: John Skeadas, Reunion, P.O. Box 788, Bedford, New York 10506 Cash ($50) only at the Door. For planning Purposes Please send in your Check by June 1.
My sister Carrie and John Skeadas of the famed restaurant family look Forward to Seeing You and Reminiscing About Great High School Days! GO BULLDOGS! See you June 26! There may even be a special guest at the door to welcome you!
Briefs: Visiting my dear cousins in Mahopac for Passover, I saw signs promoting Vedat Gashi who is in a primary with Jamaal Bowman for New York’s 16th Congressional District seat. Now I don’t have to tell you who I am voting for in the Primary hopefully with my dear cousins. But to think that a Congressional District goes from the Bronx all the way, an hour away to Mahopac! The members of the State Legislature who drew the Congressional lines certainly have no love for the current Congressman!
I have posted it on Facebook. Tweeted it. Will someone please tell Nicholas Speranza who was going to run for Judge in Yonkers but is not to ‘tear down’ the cheap, scotch taped signs he posted all over Yonkers for his short lived run for City Judge. Going through the drive thru at the Dunkin Donuts, Central and Midland Avenues, there again was a water soaked scotch taped Speranza sign. Could he be keeping the signs up for publicity for his law practice?
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen on the Westchester Rising Radio Show alternating Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, WVOX.com click listen or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
