O'Brien-Lawrence: Merchants, masks, money madness in Sun City
Posted
I am doing my very best to support local businesses so they may exist. It is a shame that a few don’t care whether we do or not.
I have rarely gone into public and into any stores since March because I respect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and value human life — mine and yours. There were a few occasions this past week where I chose to go inside three stores. I use curbside pick up at every opportunity! But I had to go inside one store. The clerk had her mask off her nose touching packages and taking payments, less than six feet away.
I politely asked her to put her mask on. She became very upset, defensive and said she was “claustrophobic” and the owner said she was fine to wait on us without her nose covered and social distancing. I contacted the owner and she said the clerk did not have to cover her nose. I contacted corporate and they said they would do something if they could.
I had to return to that store and the clerk still had her mask off her nose and yelled out at me, “Oh, no! Not you again!” I contacted corporate again and they said the owner was going to get a shield and that they could not tell the employee to wear a mask! I called and checked and there is no shield on the clerk.
A second instance was at a restaurant. I went in to pick up a to go order. The owner was standing behind the man at the register with her mask pulled down over her nose and mouth. I asked her to please put her mask on. She said, “Oh, it slipped.”
On the phone the next day a man told me that they don’t believe in masks because they have no filter. I voiced my concern about non-regulatory mask wearing around my food. Should people be allowed to breathe over and touch my food with their noses unmasked due to any reason, medical or not?
We live in a very Vulnerable community. This is life and death for us all!
Shortly thereafter, I had to make an in-person return at a grocery store where I always order pick up. Standing in the service line, an unkempt man with a bandanna around his neck came right up to me! I asked him to please mask up and get on the six-foot line away from me. He refused. The clerk did nothing. The other woman in line had her mask down, below her nose and a woman without a mask on at all walked by with her cart. Where is management and why did staff not help me?
Be careful, be safe and be wise. These merchants put the dollar before our lives. I am a Christian chaplain and I pray for them to search their souls.
