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       #Post#: 4893--------------------------------------------------
       You are highly intellegent for wearing a mask and being cautious
        in this era of covid & dangerous microscopic entities! 
       By: Masked Man Date: January 21, 2026, 5:02 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       You aren’t crazy for wearing a mask and being cautious in this
       era of covid and dangerous microscopic entities!
       { This is just a first rough draft of an essay I'm working on..
       I'll come back edit and make my post better later. It has to do
       with how people that take precautionary measures against
       airborne illness and airborne diseases are highly intelligent
       and whatever fears you've had in the past are now your
       strengths.. }
       So long as covid and long covid exists then it’s not mysophobia
       ..
       it’s not germaphobia when there’s a flu outbreak every season
       measils outbreak, RSV, monkey pox etc.
       Its not paranoia if its true.. Somethings can only be seen
       through an electron microscope.. some things are so small you
       can't see them yet they are true.
       You don’t have Enochlophobia, just because you prefer to dodge
       the next outbreak and you refuse to participate shoulder to
       shoulder in a dangerous Tupperware party or a frivolous goo goo
       ga ga slobbering baby shower or gathering full of maskless
       idiots spreading illness that carry long term repercussions .you
       aren’t a helpless infant ..its your body, not theirs.. you don’t
       have to go unmasked around people that dont have the attention
       span to really care enough to mask themselves  . you know better
       than that..
       You will probably be right about somethings at some point in
       time.
       There's something called a butterfly effect... make use of the
       butterfly effect when it maximizes the good.
       . you aren’t crazy for wearing a mask and being cautious in this
       era of covid and dangerous microscopic entities! You’ve studied
       the data and you know the true repercussions of illness and
       disease .. you see the patterns
       You aren’t obsessive compulsive for washing your hands and
       cleaning contaminated surfaces before you bring them inside your
       house and trust theses things with your life.
       Let’s get creative and play with some ideas be us right or wrong
       .. for the sake exploring ..The ‘ia’ that is being referred to
       in the aforementioned phobias is in reference to rate of
       acknowledgement rate of awe. It is a criticism of the rate at
       which one is acknowledging responding by some stimuli. Perhaps
       some undesirable excessive behavior or response is involved yet
       this doesn’t take away from the reality that lies behinds
       acknowledgment…
       .. any way just because something is beyond our senses doesn’t
       mean it’s not there… we don’t see a microcosm of events but they
       are indeed there.. maybe some people are behaving as if certain
       things actually exist in a ritualistic healthy way…
       [ By the way all this I say here is for the sake of
       argument..I'm not dismissing real professional psychoanalysis or
       their diagnosis or the legitimacy of the phobias involved in
       professional psychoanalysis.. What I am doing is this: I'm just
       running with some terms that are often loosely used by a
       complacent disease ridden society full of science denial that is
       often too quick to mislabel others who might wisely be taking
       prudent and robust  precautions against airborne illness which
       are real and come in the form of microscopic entities]
       …More food for thought about stimulus and response which is a
       good thing ..Think about ‘shame’ and how it is taught .. we cry
       ‘no!’ To a baby and grab their hands from sticking their hands
       into a fire or oven… shame is learned for good reason. Do you
       reason with the baby.. lol.. no you don’t not unless you want
       the baby burnt or suffering nerve damage.. later after the baby
       grows up we apologize for any misunderstandings or reasons
       behind the ‘shaming’ we had to teach. I guess that’s  called
       tough love! lol.. I wonder if there is such as a thing as tough
       self love!? Lol.. this probably explains why I have no problem
       ‘shameing’ others who don’t mask.. for in my eyes the maskless
       are babies in the face of new microscopic entities which have
       proven to be mutating. To me masking is like using a pair of
       oven mits when handling something proven to be way too hot to
       handle for those who don’t use a mitt! I have yet to meet a
       person in the midst of a disease or in the throes illness
       disagree with me about anything such is their state of woe.
       You are fine.. it’s the world that is crazy and reckless! Lol
       times have changed and those of you are smart who take
       precautionary measures against airborne illness and airborne
       disease which can carry long term health repercussions. You also
       are not the only one that is uncomfortable around gunslingers
       and gunpowder.
       You are being prudent by staying home and using your intellect
       to share your beautiful mind and ideas online with the power of
       the written word! You are an intelligent being for being
       independently minded, to stay away from the multitude and
       masses the herd and the pack.
       Today we face new challenges and factors than yesterday. Today
       we are in a denser population, have massive high speed
       transportation, and the climate has changed enough to make
       today's conditions different than yesterday's.
       ..Those in denial of things they can't see need only look
       through an electron microscope to broaden their horizons.
       ..Those in denial of climate change need only remember the
       phrase "that's only the tip of the iceberg" doesn't apply
       anymore.
       ..Those that believe it can't happen in our country need only be
       reminded  people from any place in the world are but one day
       away via jet plane and its a small world after all.
       Sometimes  modifying or changing our behavior and our mindset a
       tad here and there should do the trick. And at other times
       simply being yourself and doing nothing is perfect.
       Play it smart and play it safe and take care of yourself!
       Sharing online remotely is powerful betwixt other intelligent
       and creative souls. That is the  wisest way to survive and live
       richly this day and age!
       Wear a mask,
       The Masked Man
       #Post#: 4906--------------------------------------------------
       Re: You are highly intellegent for wearing a mask and being caut
       ious in this era of covid & dangerous microscopic entiti
       By: Steve Date: January 22, 2026, 2:38 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       We live in a country where our highest ranking medical official
       thinks that Vitamin A either cures or treats measles.
       As I have expressed before, it is very disturbing that our
       experiences with Covid-19 has not compelled hospital networks to
       have medical personnel wear N95 masks throughout the traditional
       flu season. That adaptation would have been the very least
       amount of effort in order to curb the traditionally contagious
       diseases, nevermind Covid.
       It does not make sense to institute masking requirements *AFTER*
       infectious diseases are significantly affecting your community
       but *BEFORE* they do so. We know that influenza and "the cold"
       are seasonal; Why not anticipate the increased amount of
       infections by having masking requirements instituted before they
       occur? Curbing Covid-19 infections would only be an added
       benefit to that policy.
       We are fortunate that, for this winter so far, the level of
       Covid infections and deaths have been lower than normal.
       However, influenza spiked far earlier than normal and Norovirus
       was also far more infectious than usual.
       And then, obviously, there is the now-constant measles outbreaks
       which are becoming commonplace in areas of the country.
       I do not consider wearing a N95 mask in these conditions to be
       an abnormal response in this environment and will continue to do
       so until I feel that I am in a safe and responsible environment.
       #Post#: 4908--------------------------------------------------
       Re: You are highly intellegent for wearing a mask and being caut
       ious in this era of covid & dangerous microscopic entiti
       By: Masked Man Date: January 22, 2026, 2:48 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Steve link=topic=2379.msg4906#msg4906
       date=1769114320]
       We live in a country where our highest ranking medical official
       thinks that Vitamin A either cures or treats measles.
       As I have expressed before, it is very disturbing that our
       experiences with Covid-19 has not compelled hospital networks to
       have medical personnel wear N95 masks throughout the traditional
       flu season. That adaptation would have been the very least
       amount of effort in order to curb the traditionally contagious
       diseases, nevermind Covid.
       It does not make sense to institute masking requirements *AFTER*
       infectious diseases are significantly affecting your community
       but *BEFORE* they do so. We know that influenza and "the cold"
       are seasonal; Why not anticipate the increased amount of
       infections by having masking requirements instituted before they
       occur? Curbing Covid-19 infections would only be an added
       benefit to that policy.
       We are fortunate that, for this winter so far, the level of
       Covid infections and deaths have been lower than normal.
       However, influenza spiked far earlier than normal and Norovirus
       was also far more infectious than usual.
       And then, obviously, there is the now-constant measles outbreaks
       which are becoming commonplace in areas of the country.
       I do not consider wearing a N95 mask in these conditions to be
       an abnormal response in this environment and will continue to do
       so until I feel that I am in a safe and responsible environment.
       [/quote]
       .. my sentiments exactly  masking properly has been proven to
       prevent airborne illness and airborne disease... therefore if we
       know something works then we should continue to routinely use
       it! It is feeble-minded and considered a form of 'science
       denial' not to use something that works!
       By the way I cleaned my chimney yesterday. I wore a mask because
       people aren't supposed to breathe in chimney creosote and soot
       any more than they are supposed to breathe in airborne droplets
       from sick people. So I just don't understand Masks should be
       required of chimney sweeps to prevent breathing in cancerous
       harmful soot just like guys who paint cars need to wear masks to
       prevent inhaling dangerous fumes and so airborne illness are
       dangerous for all so it just follows that people in healthcare
       people including patients  need to mask for  contagious illness
       ..it just goes with the territory.. its just so simple!
       Illnesses are dangerous for everybody! And nowadays sooner or
       later there's gonna be an outbreak of sorts. There's always
       going to be a time when an airborne illness hits so I'm one who
       will wear a mask in advance. That's why masking is also referred
       to as a precaution.. 'pre' meaning prior.. you mask prior to the
       exposure therefore preventing the exposure.
       ... you see I'd rather mask to prevent getting the infection
       than have to mask because I have an infection or am infectious.
       Also I'd rather experiment with the mask by using the mask as an
       experiment than to catch a virus and be experimented on by the
       virus. I'd rather see what the long term effects are from
       wearing a mask than see what the long term effects are from
       getting covid or any of the other viruses readily available to
       me. That's really how masking evolved for me. Covid came along
       and I decided I really don't wanna play with that covid and so I
       masked for that.. and then others seemed to drop their maske
       willing to experiment with catching covid and  I just waited and
       decided I think I'll experiment by continuing to wear my mask
       and so I kept the experiment going because I had such good
       results never getting sick plus the mask simply made doing all
       sorts of other stuff safer.
       It was like masking for me was such a successful experiment so
       its been 6 years of healthy success in my masking thus far!
       Again I'd rather experiment with the mask than have whatever is
       out there experiment on me. To me it seemed noble and still
       does. Masking is a noble and rewarding experiment! and sure
       enough people who haven't taken precautions or masked have
       caught covid and other stuff. There's even money involved call
       me a cheapskate but a cheapskate skates for free lemme tell you
       not getting sick equals no doctor bills .. medical bills can set
       you back forever.. Masking is also good insurance. So all those
       factors played a part and reinforced and rewarded my experience
       of masking.
       I Mask for what I think is dangerous. Illness equals DANGER to
       me. I also  mask because I have scientific mindset in that Ive
       weighed certain factors and so it's a choice based on reason.
       It's not motivated by fear that I mask ..its that I choose to
       mask because of the long term ramifications and repercussions
       involved with airborne illness. I simply choose to guard myself
       from the long term repercussions.
       For me Masking is based on reasoning and  intellect. Enough
       things happened in this world that I just decided it is highly
       intelligent to  mask and never get a contagious illness. Life
       became better after I decided that.  There's just too many
       benefits from masking to ever quit.
       I'm 55 and have been around long enough to know what a disease
       will get me so I found it much more exciting to see what masking
       would get me.. anybody can get sick. Getting sick is boring to
       me. I wanna see what its like to never get sick. It's far more
       interesting to mask and be a masked man!
       That is how I became a Masked Man! ;)
       P.S. For a certain time span Its just easier to stay masked for
       me for example.. I'm going outside I'm grabbing a bunch of dusty
       straw and filling some outdoor boxes with straw for our feral
       cats.. my mask is on filtering out any possibility of allergies
       from straw and out door cat bedding..its perfect.. then I get a
       bunch of wood for the wood stove and grab the mail and then got
       inside wash may hands and take my mask off. That masking only
       made my work more safe for me. People don't bother me when I'm
       getting my mail... I was actually listening to some scholars
       discussing some classic literature  philosophers therough
       earbuds the whole time I did all this stuff so I dont have to
       look over my shoulder just incase somebody caught me by surprise
       out side and no chance of allergies from working closely with
       cat bedding and straw...
       ...I was just totally happy in my own world listening to
       interesting lectures about great philosophers and so I am
       completely safe and I don't have to think when I have my mask on
       outside ... and when I go inside I don't have to worry one bit
       about giving my loved one any illnesses ..to me masking frees me
       up in oh so many ways . I just take my time outside in my own
       world. That's what it feels like for me. Sometimes I might grab
       a helmet, hop on my bike in my mask and race up the road and
       back.. its perfect. no chance of getting sick by anybody and no
       chance of breathing in occupational hazards.. Masking is like
       having a helmet on in the wind under tree limbs that are falling
       in the yard or like working under an apple tree when the apples
       are falling.. you can keep working without nearly as much worry.
       Masking will spoil you in ways you never would have thought.
       .. and that's just one day .. chimney sweep..mowing the lawn...
       work with hazardous material I just always mask outdoors I'm
       always ready for whatever almost like a first responder.Anybody
       or any animal or any dust or allergen can blow in or at whenever
       I'm ready!  Whenever I am outside its always something harsh or
       dangerous here in the mountains. This is a harsh environment and
       I like it that way! I live kind of rough yet safe with my
       protective gills /filter/mask. I end up doing more stuff that
       requires a mask being outdoors. I take advantage.  All I know is
       I got used to it and I have far less troubles now than in the
       pre pandemic days before 2020 when I was maskless. That's all I
       know . it makes my life better now because I proved it does for
       myself. I simply stand to gain more by wearing a mask than not
       wearing one.
       Masking for me know is kind of like wearing glasses for me..I
       wore contacts for awhile and realized in the long haul they are
       just uncomfortable for me ... you wear glasses all your life and
       you realize its kind of nice like your eyes don't tear up as
       much and you  are a little bit more protected from wind and dust
       and you just don't get as much stuff in your eyes with glasses
       on... mask feels like that now for me. You do it long enough and
       you realize its more pleasant to mask than not mask. Like a wide
       brimmed hat or something you get used to a mask and its benefits
       will spoil you.
       You ever play chess? Its all about strategy... Above all, the
       mask is all about strategy. You got a mask on and you are in a
       perfect defensive mode. Your king or queen is never in danger
       when you are masked  and you are that king or queen!
       Ever play checkers? Being masked is like you just made it all
       the way across the board to the other side and now you are king
       and can move in any direction now.
       Yet even more reasoning to mask for me is based on
       unpredictbality and how little is known as indicated by publicly
       admitted semantics and the studies. For example I base it on how
       many times they have been wrong about something or omitted
       something which indicates to me a science denial. Numerous
       studies can be cited  about the insidious nature of the long
       term heat repercussions diseases carry such as long covid.
       They've never establish true rates of long covid.. maybe they
       think they have more of a handle on covid and maybe they say the
       latest variants carries less symptoms of initial infection but
       that doesn't diminish the rate of long covid.. in fact more
       people might get long covid because more people will catch covid
       thinking the initial infection phase is more tolerable. In
       public media they tend to only focus on surviving initial phase
       of covid and dismiss all possibility of long term repercussions.
       I don't trust that and won't for the many years to come..
       ...in its very essence and in reality covid is totally novel in
       this lifetime and we won't know for sure even in our lifetime if
       covid won't carry dormant repercussions like dementia or
       something could occur. So covid is even more of a threat the
       less people are afraid of the initial infection period... Think
       of how the  completely asymptomatic people with covid will
       multiply even more so and carry and spread more covid hence more
       long covid will persist. I don't like how the general public or
       typical news 'feels'..I don't 'feel' like them... I see a lot of
       people in most news media and I get indications people just
       'want' and 'feel' and 'hope' for the best and I don't rely on
       those feelings or sentiments. I have more of a scientific
       approach to how I carry myself and make decisions in life so I
       am not complacent and I mask in accordance to what I believe has
       reality in it and about cause and effect.
       If they are doing studies on children that have recently got
       long covid then that's more than enough reason to mistrust the
       covid era is truly over. I apply all my reasons for masking  to
       bird flu potential as well as monkey pox etc. Even if things got
       better I would rather mask because it is an investment and an
       insurance against a very real threat that again based on
       patterns and my belief in today's  and tomorrow's denser
       population,  massive high speed transportation, and  climate.
       I'm not going to get any younger might as well live accordingly
       to what I see the future will bring. So I am also masking based
       on my personal beliefs. I am more excited about the future
       because its like a bet.. bet you I will fare better and longer
       than the unmasked. So far I am faring better than the maskless.I
       am living as if the mask works and it is. Imagine things 20
       years from now and its easier to go ahead and mask based on
       that.
       I also simply mask to maintain what I have. I am happy with what
       I got. I am proficient enough in countless skills and activities
       while masking and so I believe in not fixing or tampering with
       success.Not to brag but I have far fewer illnesses and maladies
       than I perceive others have although I have no way of proving
       that I don't know anybody else that can do half the things I can
       do as safely as me. Because the mask doesn't hinder my success I
       include it in my activities outside the house. It was sort of
       like in 2020 or so everybody was scared and many of us thought
       masking was the responsible and best thing to do.. then most
       everybody stopped masking and I kept my mask on while everybody
       appears to be going downhill. I have even gone as far as to
       reason to myself what would do If I had all the money in the
       world and I was eighty years old? How would I live at that age?
       Surely I'd mask, sit back and live like a king  so why not now..
       if its good for an eighty year  old to mask to not get airborne
       illnesses then same applies to everybody! Just cause I'm not the
       ripe old age of eighty doesn't  mean I want to get covid or
       anything for that matter ..lol..
       ...its all downhill from here. Might as well start taking care
       of myself now. Better to be healthy behind a mask than sick
       behind one. there was a brief time when I saw school children on
       a bus stop masking and a school bus driver masking and I thought
       "man,  those masked kids and the masked school bus driver and me
       the Masked Man are going to be the only healthy ones left. They
       are the chosen few. There was a very brief time I had the most
       hope was in 2020 when I bicycled some baked goods across town in
       my mask and would meet farmers market people who were masking ..
       we were safer when people were scared to catch covid and
       masking. Eventually masked people will endure and be doing
       business with masked people and it will thrive and flourish! Its
       a great skill and you'd think masked people stand to profit the
       most in the business world.
       To me politicians are too bigheaded to trust and too big for
       their britches I sport these views because as a kid in West
       Virginia I witnessed many men cut down by the black lung from
       the coal mines  sickly waving to me from their porches... no
       politics in the world could save them as a matter of fact
       politicians were promising those very same people that they were
       going to bring back the coal mines.. I learned my lesson having
       observed all those coal miners with black lung that the
       government could not  protect them from black lung or covid if
       covid existed at that time.
       ..I kept saying to myself I'll wait six months and observe and
       simply watch how everybody does. You know what happen ? More and
       more viruses emerged with new threats meanwhile I saw brain fog
       and even dementia occurring in public leaders and I sensed a
       mania and nervousness in people going on just by observing
       people on my street. I just sense that it is getting worse. The
       health reccomendations didn't happen like professionals thought
       .. herd immunity and a cure never really occurred and people got
       long covid which was my worst fear about covid to begin with...
       leaders declared pandemics were over even while they were
       catching covid so I gained trust only in myself ... It's just
       natural to acknowledge whether we like it or not that diseases
       and the diseased are creepy. Its hard to interact with a sick
       animal.. illness is upsetting and dangerous...
       Let me elaborate so I don't offend victims of illness who are
       responsible and coping.. naturally there are people that have to
       deal with being ill and chronically ill and are in a state of
       responsible management.. my critique of dealing with sick people
       doesn't apply to those who acknowledge illness and are in
       treatment and coping with illness however people who don't
       acknowledge illness or know their limits are often dangerous
       ...Sickness is weakness and is not good period. There is
       mistrust as well that goes along with any animal that is sick. I
       don't trust people in office who are sick that's for sure... I
       have trust issues when I see someone who is sick or open to
       sickness. As a masked person I don't trust people to make sound
       decisions or judgements while they are sick or hurting which is
       naturally why I view maskless people at being at a disadvantage
       in life.
       I definitely don't trust a maskless person with my life like I
       would a masked person. Maskless people aren't defending
       themselves from my point of view in a strategic fashion.. anyway
       much can be said of the big scale, small scale, & wide-scale
       repercussions of trying to deal with  sick or unhealthy persons
       and people who are out of control because on some level they
       feel bad and are sick and this applies to the sick ones that
       don't know they are sick or unhealthy. Even the asymptomatic
       ones seem especially dangerous to me. It's dangerous simply not
       knowing whether a person is sick or not and therefore the
       maskless people are viewed to me as being at risk or more prone
       to illness. To me it is wiser to be a masker and never get sick
       for the reason alone that sick people and often people in the
       throes of a disease can't be trusted..
       ..so I also mask because I want others to mask because sick
       people are horrible to deal with and typically not pleasant to
       be around .. ever have to to work alongside a sick person or a
       person on the verge of sickness? ..its awful their behavior is
       atrocious they can't even help it but an ill person or a person
       falling ill has no clarity and are annoying and dangerous and
       can't be trusted whatsoever because their bodies are fighting
       themselves and they are sick or about to get sick.. they are
       hurting and not patient or prudent when they are sick. Masked
       people are safer to be around.
       ...Study after study came out the quality of life and control
       and power over people's life seemed to diminish from what I see
       locally, politically and health wise so eventually I realized I
       was smart and will keep masking due to my own personal success.
       I've been rewarded with maintaining a baseline of good  health
       by masking. It is a noble experiment and even a great skill to
       have that has paid off for me or I wouldn't have continued. I
       can control whether I get sick or not which is an amazing
       virtue!(Nobody else maskless  holds that beautiful power and
       they seem helpless and desperate when they get sick... its scary
       that they can't control that about their bodies and their bodies
       betray them)  When you can control whether you get sick or not
       by a simple act such as masking you are onto something there!
       That's a mastery and a power indeed!
       I also mask because it's not all about me. Even best case
       scenario for me personally I don't want to give others covid or
       anything ... maybe I'm religious in that sense I believe what
       goes around comes around and I have an obligation because its
       not practical financially or health-wise nor is it in my best
       interest  to give my loved ones or anybody an illness which is
       an illness I don't trust. It has not been sufficiently proved to
       me that catching covid is a safe thing to do. I am a person that
       lives according to what I see is proven. I like proofs not
       wishes because I am like a scientists..I experiment wearing the
       mask while others experiment catching diseases and illnesses. I
       simply observe from my mask like a masked scientist safely and
       objectively waiting to see what becomes taking notes.
       I mostly use the respiratory type mask with shell cartridges
       fairly impervious to rain. I even use a bandanna which serves
       sort of like a dust cover for my respiratory mask... insofar as
       n95 masks go I recommend the ones that have little exhale
       valves. I feel they are the most comfortable and safer because
       one can freely exhale the air out while still being protected
       when breathing in.(unless you are masking because you are sick
       because if you are sick wearing the ones with exhale valves
       won't protect others from illness).
       #Post#: 4915--------------------------------------------------
       Re: You are highly intellegent for wearing a mask and being caut
       ious in this era of covid & dangerous microscopic entiti
       By: Masked Man Date: January 24, 2026, 1:19 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Even more reasons to mask in advance even if you are healthy…
       Right now my mask is protecting me by keeping more bad things
       from happening to me!
       Okay today everybody is supposedly preparing for ice storm which
       might very well mean downed trees,  no electricity, no
       transportation, no water, & frigid temperatures here in North
       Carolina High Country to top it off my loved one is 77 with gall
       bladder problems and possibly other medical needs.
       So if that isn’t bad enough my neighbors start burning tons of
       brush and the smoke is making us sick creeping into our home. I
       call Watauga County Fire Department and there’s nothing I can do
       according to fire chief because neighbors have a permit and are
       going to burn more tomorrow. Id have to go to civil court to
       pursue a case.. jeesh I can’t do that right now that’s totally
       unrealistic…
       .. I think we are okay for now going to seal up windows even
       better and keep my loved one in the safest room and run air
       purifier but my loved one did throw up twice.. she feeling
       better now just fixed some chicken broth for her but it’s super
       scary she still has a horrible headache and government and
       County fire department not really making a stand for me and
       loved one…  it ain’t right all that smoke but here’s the deal I
       used my mask. I wore my mask while talking with three
       firefighters on side of road over this incident today. No way
       can I  afford catching even a cold or take chances catching on
       the flu when an when an ice storm is a’coming…
       .. the point is this I protect whatever health and vitality I
       might have by continuing to wear my mask through all this..
       never panic .. keep level headed and keep my mask on because the
       mask counts just as much now as it will later!  Can you imagine
       facing having to take your loved one to a hospital during what
       they are calling ice storm public emergency and then come down
       with a pesky cold or worse because you stood out in the cold
       smokey haze talking to some firefighters for a half an hour or
       so!? I can’t imagine getting sick at a time like this which is
       why I mask ..
       .. the Governor was on tv today just now and  just stated a
       national emergency and told everybody to become friends with
       their neighbors and to keep an eye on the elderly in the face of
       this emergency(ha! think I’m going to hang out with maskless
       neighbors that are smoking me out!? My loved one is elderly! ..
       what a joke… by the way things have a way of working out and
       likely my neighbors are as sick as anything having smoked
       themselves out as well.. they likely can’t handle their own
       smoke) Can you imagine being sick and then having to deal with a
       week of no electricity or whatever that is to come?
       I will say this that although my personal policy and preference
       as a masker is to typically avoid encounters with maskless
       people, I had no no problem whatsoever in my mask communicating
       and even discussing issues with firefighters on the side of my
       road. I enjoyed small talk about education and books we were
       reading with one firefighter in particular while waiting for his
       supervisor to come. They were professional enough explaining to
       me  how they were limited by law in helping me with my
       neighbor's burning brush. I was effective in keeping my cool
       about the matter and able to maintain professional fair attitude
       and  my mask was definitely no impedance and didn't prevent me
       from representing myself with county officials. I didn't sense
       any disrespect and although I wasn't pleased with the smoke from
       neighbors on the hill I have to assume it is unintentional. What
       I am saying is the mask served me well in a time I felt I had to
       be present amongst the  maskless on the side of the road.
       Yeah! You mask not just if you are sick.. you mask if you are
       healthy because the sh*t might very well go down and you have to
       protect your health for emergencies that happen ..you gotta
       protect what little strength you have .. if you are elderly or
       however old you are, I highly recommend masking in advance of
       challenges  because nobody’s able to really help you when the
       sh*t goes down and that’s the truth .. you want every advantage
       you can get to protect yourself so I recommend masking in
       advance..
       … The mask when worn properly is like a ‘get out illness for
       free card’.
       How am I going to get through this national disaster if I’m
       sick? Yeah wear a mask so you have strength to get through the
       rough times. Cause stuff happens the least you expect it will.
       Because I masked, I won’t get sick and I’ll be able to haul in
       in my firewood to the wood stove so I can survive if electricity
       goes out! Because I mask and don’t let people even emergency
       firefighters get in my face to explain what they can’t do for me
       I don’t get possibly sick. Not possibly getting sick means I
       will possibly have the strength to march and get buckets of
       water down by the creek so I can flush my toilette with the
       creek water if the electricity goes out. I can sleep tonight
       knowing more than likely I’ll be strong enough to do things I
       must do tomorrow in this state of emergency Because I masked and
       didn’t take chances with illnesses from encounters with a few
       maskless county officials/ emergency responders who may have
       thought they could help me but didn’t.
       I hope everybody is okay and gets through the incoming ice storm
       in one piece,
       Later,
       The Masked Man
       P.S. The mask protects you from worse things happening!
       &
       The mask protects you from bad things happening on top of bad
       things!
       &
       If you don’t want things to get worse then wear a mask.
       To me it’s like this: you have to depend on yourself and you
       have to be like a ‘first responder’ for yourself.. since you
       are always ‘on call’ for yourself it’s just good to be in the
       habit of never being drunk or on recreational drugs. A first
       responder can’t drink or drug and they can’t be very good first
       responders if they take chances on illnesses… so that’s why I
       mask. I mask because I am always on call for myself and I’m a
       caretaker as well as a first responder who can’t be drunk or
       sick… I don’t drink and I routinely mask for these reasons..
       it’s really a good habit anyway out of self love and self
       trust.. I mask because I am my own ‘first responder’ and when
       trouble hits it’s always nice knowing I can deal with it with
       clarity and not while sick and it’s nice when trouble doesn’t
       hit as well because it’s pleasant not being a drunk and not
       being sick in my leisure time as well as any time.
       .. there’s absolutely no chance of me being a hero this ice
       storm week if I fell ill to airborne illness or airborne
       disease.. hence the mask!
       …Wearing a mask puts  you in a position and makes you more
       competent than the maskless are for things to come!
       … masking simply eliminates a potential threat enabling one to
       concentrate on the things that really count for something ..
       namely one’s dreams, endeavors, job, duties,love, and care!
       I say wearing the mask is like forfeiting in a game and winning
       because you forfeited.
       Or,
       Its like you wear a mask and the maskless are forfeiting and you
       win.
       by the way a day has passed since I wrote this my loved one
       feels better ..
       .. last night I filled more containers of emergency water.. did
       a bunch of little things in prep for the several days of ice
       storm we are supposed to get, We have some oil lamps and oil,
       grind up some extra coffee in advance  incase electricity goes
       out.. Just opened up some packages that got delivered including
       more cat food, and just opened up two little solar pack devices
       that are supposed to charge up my phone.. I'll probably bring in
       some more firewood this evening to stick next to wood stove..
       ...So far so good.. I worry about trees crashing on home like
       last time but none of the trees last time penetrated through the
       roof. Of course I'm not totally worry free but because I mask at
       least Ive reduced my worries.. I think illness is is considered
       to be one of the flying horseman of evil or something anyway
       illness is up there with the flying horseman of death, war,
       famine, so  not worrying about being sick is great.  ... I got
       some sleep..its simply a relief to know I'm a masker and cut out
       that illness factor with my mask .. an illness can break you and
       its just one thing I don't have to worry about ..pretty cool to
       be able to say I've ruled that factor out!
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