Remember Pebbles, the baby of Fred and Wilma Flintstone? I
think I saw her grandmother at the dentist office last week. She was wearing orange
knee-highs, an orange mini skirt, a white blouse with orange dots the size of tea cups and she had a short tuft of gray hair on the top of her head that stood
straight up and was tied with an orange bow as big as the bone in Pebbles’ do. At
first glance I thought the circus must be in town. On second glance I had to
snap my mouth shut because my jaw had dropped. Even if I didn’t hate the color
orange I would have hated that outfit on sheer principle alone. It belonged on
a six year old. What would possess a woman clearly over sixty-five to dress that
way? She had on our state required mask, though, so she at least got that
right.
Everyone who worked at the dentist’s office was wearing pink
plastic gowns and pink masks. Actually they were each wearing two masks plus
the plastic “bug shields” that covered their whole faces--whatever they call
them. If I had to pick one of them out in a lineup I wouldn’t be able to ID the
perp. I don’t think I would have been able to ID Orange Lady either if she was
wearing normal clothing but she should have gotten a ticket for hurting my eyes
with those neon knee socks and her Mary-Jane shoes firmly planted on the floor
as she tried to kept her knees pressed tightly together so those of us sitting
on the other side of the room couldn’t see her yahoo. Her skirt was so short
you couldn’t help looking to see if it was playing peak-boo.
My dentist is located in a small town 45 minutes away from
where I live. Ten years ago it was listed on the Southern Poverty Law Centers’ Hate
Map, but I just looked at the map again and the town has been removed. Must be the
local branches of the White Nationalists and Michigan Militia had moved or died
out. After one of our dental appointments my husband and I had lunch in a place
near-by that had hate group posters all over the walls that we didn’t notice until after
we’d placed our orders, so we made the best of it and did some seriously scary eavesdropping
before we got the heck out of there. It gave us great pleasure a year later
when we learned they'd gone out of business. Its owner is probably still
scratching his head, trying to figure out why he didn't get any repeat business.
Close to the dentist office last week, I stumbled into a gas
station that reminded me of that group of misfits at the closed-up restaurant. I’m
quite sure the owners were hard core anti-maskers which means they’d also be
anti-science and members of the Looking for Trouble Club. The four adults working
there were not wearing masks and looked ready to tear you apart with their bare
teeth if anyone dared to point out that our state just toughen up the mandated
mask law to now include a $500 fine for not wearing one in public places. The
law also requires businesses’ to refuse to do business with anyone not wearing
a mask and if they blatantly ignore the law they can lose their license to operate. We’re
already had two people killed over mask fights so it was tense standing in a line behind seven masked people waiting to pay for our purchases. Thankfully, no one challenged
the workers in their ‘bull pen’ taking money for gas and making pizza that they
sell by the slice. And ignorance of the new changes in the laws won’t wash
either. We all got Civil Defense warnings on our phones, radios and TVs and on
your phone you couldn’t use it again without clicking the message off your screen with
an acknowledgement had you read it.
I get the whole “I live in a free country” argument. I get
that masks are uncomfortable. I get that some people don’t like to be told what
to do. What I don’t get is why people don’t comply with taking commonsense measures for the
greater good of humanity. Wear a damn mask! Health experts all over the whole
world say they help to keep the virus from spreading and no matter what our president
says, those health experts from the other side of the world aren’t factoring in
his chances of re-election into their medical advice. We wear seat belts to
save lives. Window washers on high rises wear safety harnesses. Race car drives
wear flame-retardant suits, and plenty of jobs requires safety helmets and gloves. We wear clothes to protect our privates from getting injured or
from burning out other people’s eyeballs.
And in case you’re still wondering, Orange Lady was not wearing panties
under her mini skirt. ©
Well at least you are getting out of the house LOL! Seriously, I hope someone turns in the gas station and they lose their license.
ReplyDeleteI was pretty shocked by the station owner and his family. They have to know someone is going to come along to challenge them and/or report them.
Deleteomg how funny. I would bet my pay that this poor orange lady was mentally ill. No panties huh? Oh my goodness. Perhaps it was laundry day and that was all she had left to wear and no underpants left so she went commando. :-)
ReplyDeleteThankfully there are no big issues here with masks. I don't see people without them and all places are mandatory to wear. I think it varies from area to area.
Oh, yes, I live in Red area of the state and see push back on the governor's Covid-19 mandates often. But most people are complying with the masks. The ones who don't or are wearing Trump re-election masks do stand out.
DeleteI actually did think Orange Lady was acting child-like as well as dressing like a kid. She wasn't alone and her younger companion seemed to be in charge. The companion either forgot to do a pantie check or didn't think it was worth fighting about. The hairdo got me more than the going commando. I couldn't stop looking at the ridiculously large bow on that tiny ponytail sticking straight up.
Wow...that's quite a visual I'm getting on the grown up Pebbles. Yikes. As they say, desperate people do desperate things.
ReplyDeleteThat phone alert about stopped my heart. Definitely got everyone's attention. Go, Big Gretch! :-) I'm happy to report that on my trip up north to drive my mom back, every rest area and gas station we stopped up was full of people wearing masks. The lines at the rest rooms were socially distanced, and people were REALLY washing their hands - not just swishing under water and running. We saw one person without a mask (and the "I dare you to challenge me" look) and it was a young (20) woman in the rest room line. Needless to say, everyone was keeping their distance from her.
I have a crown prep tomorrow and expect to identify the personnel by their forehead name tags again. Otherwise, they all look like they're in space suits. LOL.
The ones not wearing masks do have an angry, challenging look in their eyes, don't they. I would not want to live with that kind of disposition. Our governor is doing a good job. Our numbers are looking great and we need to keep them that way.
DeleteSpace suits! Yes. Good luck with that. Got an e-mail from my future home near your dentist office. The middle of August they're taking us on a 'hardhat tour' so they much aspect a lot of progress by then.
Sweet...progress! FWIW, my hairdresser just put her house on the market and it sold in under a week. And another friend is in a neighborhood where houses are going in 3-5 days. So get your seatbelt on when you decide to pull the trigger!
DeleteOrange lady must have been either on her way to or coming from WalMart! Can't understand why people won't wear masks either. Aside from Whitmers executive orders it's a courtesy to wear a mask because you don't know if you are positive and infecting everyone around you.
ReplyDeleteI expect we'll be wearing masks for a year so we might as well get used to them. It is a courtesy to others that we do so!
DeleteHoly moly, you got your weirdos of the year all in one day. I live in a red state too but our Governor finally mandated masks and so far, so good. It really brings out the tension doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteWho would have ever guessed wearing a mask to stop a pandemic would be a hill for so many people willingly want to die on. I don't think it would have been if our president hadn't made light of the science or the pandemic early on.
DeleteI wish your governor would talk to Ohio's (our) governor. Sending that text is genius. Women in leadership--obviously, that's what it takes. Look at New Zealand; they have a handle on COVID-19 AND they've banned assault weapons, all in the same year.
ReplyDeleteAs for wearing masks, I'm worn out from the endless ignorance and willful contrariness, no matter who and no matter what the reason. Period. The SCIENCE is unassailable at this point, and the information is everywhere. You would have to choose to be an idiot not to mask up. That's it, plain and simple. And the so-called medical reasons would have to be severe that would keep anyone from masking. If that is the case, perhaps that individual would be better sheltering at home, taking advantage of services to bring goods and help to him/her, and not risking his/her fragile condition being exposed.
Our governor takes so much crap from the Trump fans. Death threats, recall petitions, lawsuits---all because she is following the science and getting good results to curb the virus.
DeleteI see posts daily from my Trump supporting in-laws on Facebook on how they believe the whole pandemic is a hoax designed to make Trump look bad. The conspiracy theories are invasive and dangerous. It's going to be interesting how his followers react to his 'new, so-called support' for wearing masks. I seriously doubt the far-right wing websites they get all their info from will ever show Trump saying that.
All the countries that are doing a good job with the virus are led by women and the out of control countries are led by men. Very telling, isn't it.
I never would have ever guessed that wearing a mask could be as divisive as it is. I would guess that any woman wearing the orange ensemble you describe would be memorable. People are getting stranger by the day, maybe by the hour even.
ReplyDeleteIt was a blistering, hot day, too. The Knee socks alone would have been eye-catching even without the other clothing she was wearing.
DeleteDitto on the masks.
I wonder if anyone has done a correlation between anti-maskers and smokers. Those who belief all the BS about masks are probably convinced cigarettes do not cause cancer or heart disease. After all, it is those scientists and pointy-headed liberals who take both positions.
ReplyDeleteThe smokers I've known over the years would freely admit that smoking was bad for them but they were so addicted and too scared of who'd they'd be without their crutch. But I'm sure your point is valid and applies to a share of the anti-maskers.
DeleteI need to start getting out more! How hysterical until we consider she may have challenges. Maybe I should try to be a bit more flamboyant!
ReplyDeleteI have every kind of mask available, including the bug shield. Today was a televisit with my PCP and it was fabulous!
Now to get my courage up and get walking! My eyes are still so mis matched that I will need to take my cane for balance. Dr said he would wait to have the second eye done as well.
Only YOU could find such excitement in a medical visit!
I'm a people watcher from way back. Rarely miss anything.
DeleteI need to write about being out with my Gathering Girls group at a park and getting freaked out when one got too close to me without her mask on. Happened Monday and I'm still can't let it go. Scary world out there!
I'm glad your dentist is being so careful...I worry about mine. She wears the shield when working on my teeth but just a loose mask when talking to me. Fingers crossed! Not a good time to have to have dental work.
ReplyDeleteI know! Dentists were in the last group allowed to open back up in my state, even after tattoo artists. Mine was supper careful which I appreciated.
DeleteLots of "things" to take in with your post - but what stands out "mask fights resulting in death" - just doesn't seem plausible!
ReplyDeleteas someone mentioned Covid-19 is not in the community in New Zealand, masks were not compulsory but what was deemed more VIP was hand washing, social distancing, and staying home if unwell and if need be the test... the only thing not required now that we are at L/1 is social distancing.
Yes people are/were wearing masks, some services still have the protective screen - no idea what is happening in the medical world, or any other similar places.
One security guy got shot for asking a customer to put on a mask. He got so mad he went home, got a gun and return to shoot the guard. Anyone who could stay that mad for that long over a mask has got REAL problems besides that fact that he'll be sitting in jail for the rest of his life.
Deletereminded often to do all three things: Social distancing, hand washing and wear masks.
OMG, the panty-less grown-old version of Pebbles!?! Sounds like she slipped up on keeping her knees together 😉 or else you would not be coming to us with this hilarious report.
ReplyDeleteI used to follow some fashion-related blogs of older women and it seemed to me that some of them were trying to counteract the relative invisibility of us women of a certain age by making sure they were seen and remembered! Either that, or they always wanted to dress that way and finally got up the guts. No matter what, hats off to them for their fearless self-expression, but it’s not for me. After decades of being harassed by men in the streets, I am very happy to have become invisible. Unlike me, it hasn’t gotten “old” yet (see what I did there?😁)
Masks - you can’t argue with facts and data, but apparently among these groups you can. All over the world it has been proven that mask-wearing slows the spread of disease. Period. Full Stop. Eventually there should be less anti-maskers around because - you know - Darwin.
Deb
I may have followed that same fashion blog. It was written by a guy who'd worked out of New York and photographed old women off the street who wore some God awful, colorful stuff. One bracelet or necklace was never seemed to enough. It had to be a dozen. I used to link that blog to mine because it got me out of my sweats after my husband died. It was kind of a love/hate thing...me and that blog.
DeleteDarwin...my mind has gone there a few times, too. LOL
Yep, we are talking about the same blog. Young man called Ari Something or Other. One woman even made false eyelashes out of her own (bright orange) hair. Now that’s crafty😉
DeleteRemembered the name of that blog, Advanced Style. It really would have eaten up a lot of time and money to dress like those ladies.
DeleteI often look at people and wonder what the hell do you rerally think you look good dressed like that.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Middle aged women are often out of touch with their mirrors so-to-speak. But I shouldn't say much because I can look like a bag lady sometimes. LOL
DeleteMaybe she's colorblind and thought she was an old lady wearing purple?
ReplyDeleteLOL Could be.
DeleteOrange Lady going Commando under her interestingly loud ensemble had me rolling... some things you just can't unsee! *LMAOROTF!* The Anti-Maskers are doing it for the Attention now, clearly, or mebbe they want to Die, I'm not sure and I really don't care if it's the latter, so long as they hurry up, do it and get out of the way of the rest of Society that wants to stay Well and has a social conscience and moral compass. That Hate Town would be a scary place to stumble into... that said, covert Racists are scarier only because it's more difficult to identify them under their cover of Anonymity or pretense that they're not Racists.
ReplyDeleteI has a woman I know pretty well tell me this week that she wasn't worried about getting the virus, "If I get it, I get it. I've lived a long life." Scared the crap out of me to know she wasn't being pro-active careful.
DeleteSince Obama was elected, there are less covert racism and more open racism. I've been shocked at some of the people I've known for years who have showed their racism this year. They hid it well for a long time.
My eyes still hurt from sitting across from Orange Lady.
I couldn't stop laughing about your description of Pebbles' grandma! I too have often wondered why women of a certain age (my age +/-) seem to dress to impress or I should say dress to be the centre of attention. I think that they just want their 5 minutes of fame and are running out of time. Anyway, thanks for the laughs, and hope your eyes are ok now!
ReplyDeleteYou just have to shake your head sometimes and laugh without getting caught doing it.
DeleteThe one good thing (and it is really not "good")that has come out of this administration is that the racists and haters are making themselves known. I was so surprised at how many people hate people of color and immigrants and people that they consider different.
ReplyDeleteWe need to vote this group out but I am afraid of what they will do when they lose.
I agree with every word you wrote. I keep wondering if the in-laws I've known for nearly 50 years were just really good at covering their racism up or was I living in my own little bubble and didn't pick up on it until Trump made it okay for them to bring the hate out in the open.
DeleteThe anti-maskers infuriate me. And just this week I found out a family member living in another state, where the pandemic out of control, is one of them. It was heartbreaking. And infuriating. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I just turned down going to a graduation party where they promised enough room for social distancing because 4 in-laws who are anti-masks and Trump supporters will be there for their granddaughter. They've been rabidly posting conspiracy crap and proven lies and I don't I couldn't bring myself to go to the same party. Maybe after the election...
DeleteOMG about the Orange Lady. At least she had her face covered. That took care of one end.
ReplyDeleteI will never understand the anti-maskers. They act as if someone asked them to make a huge sacrifice. For crying out loud. I can't believe we've become so divided over such a commonsense request and now mandate in most states.
Me neither. How on earth did we ever get here in such a short time?
DeleteSo grateful for your post. Your combined blogging talent, humour, common sense and courage has cheered me up. Old Granny Pebbles of the exposed pudenda was my laugh out loud to keep the men in white coats at bay for the day. I'm nursing a crumbling molar at present, too nervous to even think about going to my dentist in the city. Your governor sounds a lot more competent than Victoria's premier.
Delete"Let's be careful out there."
You are such a great writer, I'm truly flattered by your kind words!
DeleteOur governor gets so much push back for her strong handling of state health issues, I fear for her life. She's very brave!
Dear Jean, the anti-maskers are what led me to begin studying (by listening to audio books from the library) the American Revolution, the Continental Congress, the Consitutional Congress, the drafting of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. In other words, I'm reading about the creation of our country. And in doing so I'm learning so much about those who protested against Britain and about the patriots. I wonder if the anti-maskers think they are being the "patriots" of today. If so, they do not understand our history. Peace.
ReplyDeleteI believe a lot of them do believe they are patriots and they have the tee-shirts to prove it. A high percentage of them also buy into conspiracy theories and don't believe the pandemic is real which is validated by our president's attitude and dog whistles.
DeleteI first started reading your blog at the beginning of 2020 regarding the Good Thing Jar and have been filling mine ever since. Thank you for that one simple thing that touched my heart. All I can say is we have to vote. Which is worse, Don Corona for 4 more years or the Coronavirus pandemic. I flip flop between those two issues. I have been in a red county since 1989 and I'm not a republican yet. I will not let my husband leave the house wearing pajama bottoms and adidas flip flops with socks.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad the Good Thing Jar is working for you! I have been slipping up and need to rededicate myself to the process. Thank you for that feedback.
DeleteI see so many young people, 20s & 30s, wearing pajama bottoms in the stores but let an old person do it and they are ready for the nursing home, it's a double standard just like the mini shirt on Orange Lady. LOL
I'm so afraid of Mr. Trump getting reelected! I'm in a Red county two and hope I'm just getting a false reading on his popularity nation wide.
Everything you say n that last paragraph? YES! And MORE yes! This election is not a slam dunk (remember Hillary -- don't believe polls) and this scares me to death.
ReplyDeleteOrange Lady. She certainly is a free spirit!
Me, too Jeanie, I'm really scared he's going to get re-elected and our democracy and the rule of law will never recover the damage he's doing to our institutions and world standing.
Delete