I spent 4 days in Orlando, Florida this past week and I’m here to tell you, the COVID-hysteria may be waning, but in some areas it’s still in full force. I have a few stories to tell but let me start with the travel portion of the trip.

I decided to fly to Orlando from Atlanta. If you haven’t flown since the government’s daft reaction to CV19, you’re missing a lesson in the inane. Masks must be worn PROPERLY at all times when in an airport or on a plane - except of course if you’re eating or drinking. It’s very obvious who hates the masks by the way they wear them or the lengths to which they go to keep eating and drinking. On the flight home today, about 30 minutes out of Atlanta, a snack was served. I lowered my mask and after I finished my nosh, I forgot to put my mask back up. Shockingly, I made it through the remainder of the flight and walking off the plane without getting yelled at by the newly deputized help.

While in Orlando, I stayed across the street from Mall of the Millenia. On Friday the person I was staying with wanted to go to a clothing store to buy a shirt. Not only does the mall require you to wear a mask while walking through the common areas, every store requires and polices compliance. We were met at the mall entrance by a security guard dressed to appear as a “legitimate” law enforcement officer who proceeded to hand us masks. I grabbed them as we kept walking. And yes, we were then stared at by everyone. The store we decided to shop in was empty except for employees. We were immediately met at the door like two lepers trying to attend an orgy. After I posted about this incident on Twitter, I was contacted by someone from the area who informed us of a plaza half-an-hour north that was returning to normal. We made the half hour trip and weren’t bothered.

I traveled to Orlando because Tom Woods was hosting a party at his home for his supporting listeners. I arrived a few days early to make a mini-vacation of it. As one would expect, there were no masks at Tom’s party so I’m now waiting for the information to come in about how much of a super-spreader event it was. Not a mask in sight, everyone just living in the moment. And THAT needs to be normalized.