{"id":79464,"date":"2020-05-30T07:11:09","date_gmt":"2020-05-30T11:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=79464"},"modified":"2020-05-30T07:11:09","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T11:11:09","slug":"the-old-coot-asks-who-was-that-masked-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/05\/30\/the-old-coot-asks-who-was-that-masked-man\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Coot asks, \u2018Who was that masked man?\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

My facial recognition abilities have been put to the test. And failed! It\u2019s those masks we wear in public places. <\/span><\/p>\n

The other day in a grocery store, I was limping along the baking goods aisle, the wrong way. I finally realized my mistake and turned around, nearly crashing into a married couple that was also walking against the arrow. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess we\u2019re going the wrong way on a one-way street,\u201d I chuckled. \u201cI didn\u2019t see the arrow on the floor either.\u201d As they were turning their cart around, I asked, \u201cHow are you guys doing. Is the sheltering in place driving you nuts? How are the kids handling it?\u201d <\/p>\n

The husband mumbled a curt reply and sped away to the end of the aisle; I went right; they went left. I heard the wife ask, \u201cWho was that guy? Do you know him?\u201d \u201cI have no idea,\u201d he responded. <\/span><\/p>\n

I guess I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised; I keep having conversations with people I think I know, but don\u2019t. It\u2019s those darn masks; they hide all our facial features except for our eyes. Oh yea, and those mops on top of our heads that need attention. But eyes often look familiar to me, and friendly. So, I do what comes naturally and engage in conversation.  <\/p>\n

It\u2019s happening all too often, causing me to have an identity crisis. Not my identity, the identity of everyone else. Eyes alone don\u2019t give enough information. I need more face, to make out who I\u2019m looking at. <\/span><\/p>\n

The reverse experience is going on too. A pair of eyes will say, \u201cHey Coot, how you making out?\u201d I don\u2019t know who it is. And I\u2019m instinctively leery of someone wearing a mask. I developed the instinct when I was a kid, watching cowboy movies every Saturday at the Grand Theater on the south side of Binghamton. The bad guys wore masks when they held up a bank or robbed a stagecoach. So, I\u2019m nervous when confronted by a person wearing a mask; I deal with the unease by talking, hoping they will think I\u2019m harmless and not shoot me. <\/p>\n

But the tide is turning. Now, it\u2019s the people without a mask who are making me nervous. I haven\u2019t made a full transition; I\u2019m stuck being afraid of both masked and unmasked people. The thing that\u2019s bringing me around is my memories of Lone Ranger movies, one of my favorite cowboy heroes. He was a good guy, yet wore a mask. I can\u2019t wait until we\u2019re all unmasked and I can recognize people again. I may not remember their name until later in the day, but I\u2019ll know I know them. <\/p>\n

Comments? Complaints? \u2013 Send to \u2013 mlessler7@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My facial recognition abilities have been put to the test. And failed! 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