Life Lesson

Creative Face Covering During the Pandemic

There was no way to gain entry without one, I did what I had to do

I thought I saw them all — the ridiculous, funny, ugly, creative, even obscene — face masks during the Pandemic. But when I forgot mine I had to think outside the box or be turned away.

During the summer after the COVID-19 pandemic first appeared on the scene, my family and I continued our tradition of vacationing at one of our favorite spots at the shore.

There were so many restrictions in place it was hard to remember them all. While on the boardwalk we were not forced to wear a mask, but it was mandatory before entering the amusement park area.

Despite the many new rules, we had to abide by, being out in public and enjoying a vacation was better than isolating ourselves at home. Aside from that, not wearing a mask or carrying spares became one of my biggest issues, then trying to breathe with it on was another one.

I often pulled the mask away from my face to grab a few sneaky breaths of air or pulled it down past my nose. As uncomfortable as I was wearing one, I brought some on vacation with me and left them in a prominent spot on the bureau at the motel so I would remember to take one with me upon leaving the room.

On the boardwalk

Our motel was within walking distance of the boardwalk for the convenience of having dinner and enjoying the amusement park afterward. Their assortment of rides would satisfy any ride-goer and as such, we liked to hit the best rides before the park became too crowded and wait times too long.

Due to the age differences amongst the three girls ranging from 3 to 9, we needed to split up. My task was to roam around with Shirley, the youngest, in search of rides that were appropriate for her, and ride with her where permissible.

My son, Andrew, liked the rougher, tougher rides, as did my middle granddaughter who finally made all the height requirements that year.

My oldest granddaughter, who was not crazy about most of the rides, preferred to sit on a bench texting friends on her cell phone.

The only one she enjoyed was this humongous course with climbing ropes and zip lines, which was located outside the amusement park area. They all decided to go on that first before we went on rides.

Being one of the more popular adventure rides, the waiting line was already long. Shirley was tugging on my arm asking me to take her to the Merry-go-round. That’s when my son suggested I take her over to the amusement park and they would catch up with us when their attraction was over.

Leaving the backpacks with him and the girls, we said our goodbyes. My son gave me cash for our tickets, and I took the baby to the other end of the boardwalk to the entrance of the children’s rides.

We had no sooner stepped foot into the park when a woman stopped us and informed me that I would not be allowed to enter without a mask.

Oh, darn, if I had one at all, it would be in my backpack at the rope course, else it would be on the bureau back in my room. We could backtrack and waste time hoping I had packed one or I could start frantically searching for something, anything to put over my face, even a discarded mask that may have been lying around, I was that desperate.

No masks to be found

Perusing the general vicinity turned up nothing, and stopping at food stands proved unsuccessful as everyone was out of them. As long as we stayed on the boardwalk, we were fine, but Shirley would not settle for ice cream, she wanted to go on rides.

As it was already past Shirley’s bedtime, I knew she’d be getting tired soon and I did hope she could have some fun before I took her back to the motel room. I was already fading myself as I normally go to bed early, and the park was starting to fill up and lines were becoming longer.

As I scoured the boardwalk and checked over the railing on the sand for a shirt, a mask, a scarf, something I could cover my face with I remembered I was wearing one of the girl’s shoulder bags for safekeeping. It was a small bag, barely large enough to hold a little makeup and a wallet.

My only hope was to find a spare mask or scarf tucked away in it. I opened the bag to find there was no mask and nothing that even closely resembled a mask, or was there?

Desperate times

The only cloth item was a fresh pair of clean turquoise underwear with a bright pink band. My creative juices started flowing. If I could pull one hole over my head and put part of it over my mouth and nose, I could stretch the other hole over one ear, and the opening at the top over the other. It may work.

It was getting late, it was super-hot, and I had to do something.

With Shirley watching me and laughing, I managed to stretch the underwear up over my head as planned and in place. I knew it didn’t look like a mask, but I had seen some strange face coverings since we hit the boardwalk and believed I could pull it off.

What it looked like didn’t matter, I was not trekking back to the climbing course or the motel with a tired 3-year-old in tow on one of the hottest nights of the year.

With my turquoise and pink face covering, we confidently walked back to the amusement park entrance and went through the front gate. The woman said nothing this time and let us by. Cool, we made it, or did we?

Just as I thought we were home free; this other woman came from out of nowhere holding a small box in her hand which I didn’t recognize at first. Busted! As she reached into the box, pulled out a brand-new mask, and handed it to me, she asked, “Wouldn’t you prefer this to a pair of underwear?”

I didn’t think it was that obvious. “Yes,” I said feeling embarrassed as I took the offering, “I guess I would.”

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