Water seeks its own level

I'm so glad I live in this community! It was sunny, clear and cold for this time of year (45º). I had to pick up prescription cat food at the vet's office and I walked. It took about 30 minutes and it was lovely. The sidewalks were, of course, empty except for joggers and people walking their dogs. Yet I felt so connected to my neighbors.

Encouragement from a local house of worship

The sign says:
• Doctors  • Nurses • ER Staff  • Police • Firefighters • First Responders • Pharmacies • Teachers • Grocery Stores • USPS • UPS • FedEx • DHL • Amazon • Food Delivery • & More
THANK YOU! Family, Friends and Neighbors • Stay Safe • Stay Healthy.

Doesn't it make your heart happy to think of the fun this family had, making these positive and supportive decorations?

However, just as water reaches its own level, so does sewage. My vet tech and I caught up on life as she rung up my pet food. I hadn't been there since mid-March, something of a record for me! We were both in our masks. Mostly we talked about Reynaldo, but naturally the unusual protocol for picking up the food -- I had to ring the bell to be let in -- came up. I thanked her for wiping down the pen before I used it. She told me about her sister, who lives in downstate IL near the KY border. Sis was waiting in line to enter a grocery store. Everyone in line was wearing a mask except one woman, who had a Confederate flag bandana around her neck that she could easily have pulled up to cover her nose and mouth.

Sis asked the woman if she wouldn't mind putting on her mask. "Yes, I would! My body, my choice." It was obvious she was just waiting for someone to engage her so she could use that line.

A small, white haired woman asked her to "please, put on your mask to protect me." Can you guess what Ms. Confederate Flag said? "No. My body, my choice."

It's amusing that Ms. Confederate Flag was willing to wear her offensive bandana as a mask inside the store. She doesn't care enough about her "rights" to risk roughing it without toilet paper.

And by the way, it isn't her "right." As Americans have been saying since the 1880s, "Your liberty to swing your arm ends where my nose begins." Our neighbors have a right to feel safe, too. And oh, yeah, masks are the law here in IL. The Land of Lincoln. You know, the side that won the Civil War. The Confederate flag was purposely provocative, too.

Enough about the silly live-free-or-die, fight-the-tyranny, I-blame-Obama's-deep-state crowd. I'm glad I'm here. Where we care about each other and our country. Where I belong.