Play tape:

“Sew Veriola. Sew like the wind!” The Three Amigos

Those words jumped from my lips when I saw her sew. My wife Barbara looked up, smiled, put the pedal down, and the machine revved. The sound of it whisked me back to my mom mending and making clothes in the 60’s and 70’s.

Oh, Barbara’s not the only 21^st century Rosie the Riveter hunched over a modern mending miracle. Yesterday she heard of a better filter for masks. Immediately she went on-line to secure some of the material. A moment after she secured a box, she checked again, and none was available. We know friends and relatives who are also making masks. It’s as if they were parachutes for Army Airborne Rangers so they can drop behind enemy lines to rescue humanity from invisible forces.

Masks. Who da thunk? Now we’re all encouraged to don them when out in public. This isn’t a fad like Beanie Babies or Tickle Me Elmo. This is a cover-up; a positive one for a change.

We had a good laugh a bit ago when hearing about transforming bras into PPE’s (Personal Protective Equipment). Side note… Every wonder why the bras are centrally located in stores? Anyway as we drifted through ‘that’ section I wondered if my face would be a double D or a triple A.

Don’t worry, soon we won’t have to go deep into the store to get our PPE. There will be vending machines everywhere and in them personal preferences displayed. I hope army men prints are among them. Just think for a moment, what style would you choose? Maybe they will be under lock and key at the party store. “Hey, give me a pack of Marlboro Reds and an Elmo n-95 please. Make it two.” What an irony.

When I go to work tomorrow I’ll see more eyes and less teeth. In the back of my mind George Benson’s “Lost in a Masguerade” will loop and loop. Honestly, I’m kinda okay with wearing one. My dental profile isn’t the greatest. I’ll be able to bare my teeth and all they’ll see is smiling eyes.

All jesting aside. I pray that the appropriate masks will flood the front lines where they’re needed the most. My brother is a nurse, and I’m sure we all know someone who is in a similar arena. Many companies big and small are retooling to make PPE’s and Ventilators and on and on for this war effort.

One last thought for now.

Isn’t it strange something invisible is changing so many visible areas of our lives? Think on this. I am.