In about four minutes, at midnight, it will become compulsory to wear facial coverings in public in Seminole County Florida.

This is where I live and work. It’s going to be interesting to see how Oviedo Walmart shoppers respond. Overall, Seminole County is red. Oviedo leans blue. It’s next to UCF and a lot of professors and students, who tend to be liberal, live in Oviedo. So, we could have a few fights happening in the store.

Thus, it was kind of interesting today when Dub, our store manager, came up front and with one our AP (asset protection) associates, removed the caution tape that has disrupted the flow of traffic from the grocery side to the pharmacy, men’s wear, hardware and auto for three months. They also removed the blockages between self-checkout and the regular check-outs.

“I’m tired of the grumbling,” Dub told me. He didn’t elaborate but, I’m sure he discussed the situation with his bosses and they decided, I’m totally guessing, to equalize the situation: customers have to wear masks but, we will toss them a bone and permit them to roam freely. Directional arrows were left in place, however.

These are such surreal times. I just hope and pray this pandemic begins to abate. So many people are hurting physically and financially.

I just lost my neighbor, Debbie, to this COVID-19 economy. She’s a hairstylist whose clients are all people who live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They are still on lockdown. She hasn’t steadily worked at her craft since March. She finally reached the point where she wasn’t going to have July’s rent. It sucks. She’s curtailing her independence by moving into a place where she will have less control. Boy, I can relate to that but, that’s another tale.

I’m going to miss her. She was the brightest thing about the apartments we live in.

Everyday, I hope, we get closer to a vaccine but, time seems to crawl on that front.