Letter to the Editor: Empty Desks — Why I Wear a Mask

Simply put, I wear a good quality cloth face mask to avoid either spreading the Coronavirus to others, if I am a carrier, and to possibly avoid catching the virus from another person. 

I have seen the videos on television illustrating the efficiency of masks in blocking spread of the virus, and if a simple cloth mask can be effective in protecting others or in keeping me safe, then no question about it—I’ll wear a mask.  

Putting on my mask, maintaining a safe distance between me and others, and staying home as much as possible are three steps I can take to minimize my chances of being infected by the virus and of infecting others. I know that many people in Lewis County do not feel the same way that I do because I see so many people making no effort to protect themselves or others from the virus. I don’t understand their thinking, just as I don’t understand the thinking of a law enforcement officer who encourages people to have no respect for the simple measures put in place by the governor to protect against the spread of the virus.

Yes, I’ve heard and believe the experts and their hard data supporting mask wearing. A mask is a mask, a few layers of fabric to cover my nose and mouth, an obstacle to the virus either going out or coming in. To me, mask wearing is essential. However, I have one more reason for wearing my mask, and that reason comes from a childhood memory.

I was born in 1939, during the time of the polio epidemic. I remember the long summers of the late 1940s and very early 1950s when the swimming pools, playgrounds, and day camps were closed due to the danger of spreading polio. Those summers were “backyard summers.” Until I was about nine years old and in the third grade, the disease was an abstract idea, something I knew about but was not part of my reality.  

Polio became my reality, however, on the first day of third grade when three of my friends did not return to occupy their desks. Later in the fall two friends returned wearing braces and using short crutches. One never did return to occupy his desk. Only then did I know the full horror of the disease and understand the reason for the “backyard summers.”  

For those who scoff at the precautions mandated by our governor and by the public health officials, there truly is a good reason to take the precautions seriously. I remember the empty desks, the friends who returned wearing braces and using crutches, and the friend who never did return to occupy his desk. The Coronavirus is not the polio virus, but it is at least as deadly and may be even more contagious—and it is every bit as real as the virus that causes polio. Please take it seriously and protect yourself and your loved ones. 

Jean Fairgrieve

Chehalis