The last time I ventured into the University Heights branch of San Diego Public Library, the elderly lady greeting folks and completing their purchases evicted me. She insisted that I wear a face mask; I responded that the county had ended SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 mandates. She demanded. I refused and captured the moral ground. She won the war, because my butt got booted.
The third Saturday and Sunday of the month are this weekend, and the book sale will once again be open. Should I go? Here’s the thing: later that same day, Oct. 15, 2022, I returned with Leica Q2 to take the Featured Image. Not until tonight, when taking time to finally process the photo, did I realize that no one shopping for books wears a mask!
Go ahead, say it. I shouldn’t let a little old lady push me around. Hey, my family taught me to respect elders. What if someone else pushed back and she had heart failure—and that’s why she wasn’t on mask-enforcement duty, reliving her youth memories of being middle school hall monitor.
Tomorrow, she and I may face off again.
Photo vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 12:16 p.m. PDT.