Barnestorming: 'Thank you, masked man'? Not from this Mainer

I think a good question everyone should be asked is: If a random guy with an extremely weird beard wants to debate the wisdom of mask wearing, but he is selling really great vegetables, should you tell him he needs to change his medication or just chuckle and keep shopping?

For two years, every time I went out in public, I expected some wild-eyed fanatic to come up to me and call me stupid for wearing a mask. It never happened.

Since sometime in March 2020, I have been wandering around wearing a mask. When they became available, KN-95 became my brand. I like that the mask in part because it makes me look like I have the beak of a Steller’s sea eagle.

Initially I did not enjoy wearing masks, but I covered up because I knew it made sense healthwise.

In 2020 and 2021, safety precautions were embraced by many people. It is different now. As the pandemic has moved into a new stage, with people feeling safer due to vaccines, I admit I have become a bit lax. I go out to public places and no longer carry hand sanitizer spray as a defensive weapon. I cover my face going into restaurants, but sometimes remove the mask while giving the waitress my order. I still wear a mask in stores, but somewhere along the line I made a mistake.

Several weeks ago, I tested positive for COVID-19 and went through about two weeks of absolutely no symptoms other than embarrassment that I had let my guard down. I almost wish I suffered a little just to remind me that COVID-19 is something to take seriously.

Masks, hand sanitizer, face shields and Clorox wipes have all been part of the pandemic experience. So have encounters with people who don’t believe in the pandemic. They have a list of talking points they want to yell in public to make you look stupid for wearing a mask or asking them to wear masks.

I am not someone who likes confrontations, but I am curious about the angry anti-masker phenomenon.

For two years I regularly visited stores masked. I expected to be challenged at some point, but even the people who glared as they walked past me never said anything.

I was beginning to lose hope when I took a trip to Maine last week.

I love Maine. We did a little hiking and kayaking, went out to eat and generally had a great time. The only thing we lacked was a supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Along the road we saw a farm stand that displayed hundreds of pumpkins in the yard and, as it turned out, had some of the nicest vegetables I have seen anywhere.

In the farm stand we met the owner, a surly-looking guy with a bad imitation of an Amish-style beard sprouting about 8 inches down from under his chin.

Like a couple of eager tourists, we said, “Good afternoon!”

His first words were, “I’d like to ask you a question. Why are you wearing those masks?”

I wondered if he meant the style of mask. Before I could launch into an explanation of how I liked the Steller’s sea eagle look, especially in Maine where earlier this year the rare bird with a giant beak became a tourist attraction, the owner explained in a very condescending way that we were shopping outside in the fresh air.

I started to get annoyed but mostly was concerned that at some point he would not do business with us, and we really liked the look of his produce.

Instead of following my instincts to call him an idiot, I decided just to be truthful.

“Wow. These are really great vegetables,” I told him.

He ignored the comment and asked, “Do you think I am diseased?”

The obvious answer was, no he probably wasn’t, but his beard might be.

Instead, I said, “You really do have great pumpkins, and look at these carrots!”

He kept talking as we shopped, never wavering from the script. He didn’t like masks, and I think he actually thought he might talk us into agreeing with him. We were not converted.

After we bought a pretty big load of produce and a cookie, I complimented him again. He grunted, shook his head in disgust and proclaimed that he was born poor, but he worked hard and now is a multimillionaire, because that’s what Republicans do.

Since I grew up in a family of Republican farmers, I didn’t disagree. I was glad for him and quickly drove away before he could demand his vegetables back.

George Barnes is a former reporter for the Telegram & Gazette. His column will appear regularly in the Sunday Telegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: George Barnes column on wearing masks and being confronted by Mainer