'I will wear a mask . . . for you'

Becky Barnes

By Becky Barnes
Editor, The Cynthiana Democrat
April 30, 2020
    I’m not ready to die.
    I will stay away from crowds and, even though I am not a non-essential worker, I’m not a frontline essential worker either.
    But, I will adhere to the recommended guidelines of our leaders. I will stay six feet away from my friends and family. I will refrain from hugging my one and only granddaughter and her mother, knowing that to do so could infect either of us.
    I’m not ready to die.
    Like so many other Americans, Kentuckians, Harrison Countians and residents of Cynthiana, I have underlying health issues. In a “normal” time, they would not be life-threatening, but paired with the coronavirus pandemic, I’m not certain.
    Is anyone certain?
    I’m certain that I’m not ready to die.
    I still have four years of work before I can retire.
    I have a wedding to attend in October. My youngest is to be married to a beautiful woman whom he met while living in Florida.
    They will be married in North Carolina when the leaves are turning red, gold and orange, when the temperatures are just warm enough to enjoy an outdoor wedding.
    Guests are planning to be there, coming from across the United States.
    I’m not ready to die.
    I will stay home when I have to. I will sit in my car and eat food from my favorite small business.
    I will help where I can. I will buy local.
    Our small businesses, even the most rooted, are suffering in this pandemic. The clientele that they have served for years, whom they have considered part of a big family, are also suffering.
    Nobody gets out of this unscathed.
    I’m not ready to die.
    It doesn’t matter whether I’m Democrat or Republican, white, African American or Asian. It doesn’t matter if I have a college education or a GED. We are all equal when it comes to covid-19.
    There are some who complain that the government is trying to control us. Others who yell “socialism” and “communism.”
    And then there are those of us who are at the mercy of leaders with whom we are putting our faith to tell us the truth; to tell us what we should do.
    I don’t have a Ph.D. I have never done any scientific research on diseases.
    Again, I, and we, are at the mercy of those who do have the knowledge to research diseases and their affects on society.
    Neither President Trump nor Gov. Andy Beshear are medical professionals. However, they are each relying on those who are to guide them so that they can guide us. They have to make plans based on what information is fed to them.
    I will follow those guidelines, not like a lamb to slaughter, but like a woman who will protect her family. I have elderly parents and in-laws whom I love very much. It would kill me to pass something along to them.
    And, I’m not ready to die either.
    So, if I need to wash my hands more than normal, if I have to stay away from people, if I have to do my reporting over the phone, I will.
    You see, I’m not ready to die.
    I don’t want to be a statistic, a number on a piece of paper. I don’t want to be sick and not have my family close, nor do I want someone in my family to be sick and not be able to be with them.
    I’m not ready to die.
    I will wear a mask if I must.
    There are so many questions about why now, after two months, are we being told to wear masks.
    If you were staying safe at home, then you didn’t need to wear a mask. But now as the government is starting to loosen some of the restrictions, more and more people will be leaving the safety of their homes. When you add more people to the mix, you also increase the chances of spreading the germs.
    I will wear a mask.
    I will wear one for my husband of nearly 44 years. I will wear one for my two children and future daughter-in-law. I will wear one for my granddaughter. I will wear it for my sister-in-law who is more like a sister. I will wear a mask because someone who knows more than I says it will help.
I will wear a mask not because I am required to do so, but because it may help. This is all new. We are learning as we go. But if there is a chance it will help ...
    I will wear a mask ... for you.
Becky Barnes has worked at The Cynthiana Democrat for 44 years. In early March, when Harrison County had Kentucky's first case of covid-19, she published a special edition about it, giving information that dispelled rumors.