Come As You Are
Posted by Pete Robbins on Aug 4th 2020
As we sat in the airport in July, headed out on our first flights since February, it was hard not to stare at one of our fellow passengers. Of course staring is easier these days, because with masks and glasses and face shields, our expressions are less obvious. I’m sure other passengers were staring, because even in COVID-stained times, a full bodysuit is something of an oddity.
She – I’m pretty sure it was a woman, but I’ve learned not to assume such things – was covered head to toe in in a Hazmat suit, face shield, shoe covers, gloves. I would not be surprised if she was wearing a diaper to avoid having to take that entire contraption off.
My first inclination was to mock, and while I still find it odd, I’m trying to be a better person than that. We’re all a little bit outside of our comfort bubble these days. If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be buying hand sanitizer by the gallon, wearing a mask in public and using a plastic bag over the handle to pump gas, I would’ve called you crazy, but I’m doing all of those things (and more) voluntarily. I wasn’t fully comfortable going to the airport or getting on a plane, but it was important enough to me to travel to take a bit of risk. Maybe that was my fellow traveler’s deal, too. Perhaps she was headed to see an ailing loved one, or to attend a funeral, or to start a new job. Or maybe she had some particular physical vulnerability that needed protection. Judging from her attire, she was less comfortable that I was, and perhaps rather than ridiculing it, I should celebrate it. Plenty of people let fear rule their lives – she was in the arena, in the best mix of bravado and caution she could muster.
It made me think of my mother, who by nature is a world-class scaredy-cat yet has managed to overcome those fears and take the world by the balls. She doesn’t love flying, but numerous times each year she gets on the big bird and makes intercontinental trips to both luxurious and third world places, some of which I wouldn’t dare go to. Furthermore, she’s turned her fears into assets – because she can empathize with them, she’s become a renowned therapist dealing with others’ phobias. That’s not just admirable, it’s amazing. She could’ve shrunk into her shell, but she attacked her weakest link head-on.
So while you may see the picture above as a chance to ridicule someone you don’t know, I’m going to celebrate this traveler I’ll likely never meet for her bravery. She got out there and went someplace when it would’ve been most socially acceptable to stay the hell home.
