“Hey Maybelle !”
“Hey, Peggy Joy !”
“Girl, I love your Face Mask !” exclaimed Peggy Joy. “Did you make that yourself ?”
“Sure did. Drew out the pattern on some of my ‘ole art parchment paper, and the rest is history,” Maybelle replied matter-of-factly.
“I just love those Daisies ! They look like giant Suns !” Peggy Joy said enthusiastically.
“Well, the ever lurking Coronavirus has thrown us all into some pretty dark times, Peggy Joy. I figured we could all use a little Sunshine.”
“Isn’t that the Truth,” Peggy Joy agreed.
“You should see the Face Masks that my Cousin Janet and I, and all of our Kids are makin’. We put together all kinds of colors of Ritz dye, and then we all created some Tie-dye Masks. It was a lot of fun, and the Kiddos love wearin’ ‘em now.” Maybelle relayed.
“I have even got my hands on some cloth materials covered with kitty cats and puppy dogs that the kids can’t wait to make masks out of, but I cannot get Jeb to wear a Face Mask to save my life,” Maybelle said exasperatedly.
“He keeps tellin’ me that he’s not wearin’ anything covered with flowers or stinkin’ animals. And that he is not a Tie-dye wearin’ Hippy-Dippy. Imagine that !”
“I finally convinced him to wear his Bandanas over his mug. So, I’ve just been sewin’ the elastic bands on ‘em, and lettin’ him have at it. I must admit that he does look rather rakishly dashing in ‘em. But I did warn him to never go to the Bank with one of ‘em on, because the Bank Tellers might get the wrong idea about his intentions,” Maybelle winked playfully at Peggy Joy.
“Rakishly dashing - ha !” Peggy Joy laughed outright. “You must have got that line oughta’ one of those romantic adventure novels you’re always reading’.”
“Peggy Joy, it is important to expand one’s mind and vocabulary,” Maybelle said emphatically.
“And one’s romantic fantasies, ha !” Peggy Joy retorted.
“And those, too, I must confess,” Maybelle grinned.
“Peggy Joy, what’s that measurin’ tape that you’re holdin’ in your hand for ?”
“To measure six feet between me and anybody else I might encounter when I have to shop for the family or decide to go for a walk for some fresh air, and a little peace and quiet. My house is a circus since the Kids were sent home from School for a while because of this ‘ole Coronavirus fiasco,” Peggy Joy admitted.
“You really do that, Peggy Joy ?”
“You bet I do. I don’t want me or mine catchin’ that nasty Corona Bug !”
“Oh, I know what you mean. I do the same thing, but I just eye-ball the distance between me and Folks. Jeb is six feet and five inches tall. So, I probably overdo the distance thing a bit,” Maybelle revealed.
“Speakin’ of Bugs. One of the gentlemen I take care of on Wednesdays thinks that he feels Bugs crawlin’ around on his head sometimes. The other day he heard the lady on News talk about the Coronavirus Bug.”
“Well, a few minutes went by, and I noticed him feelin’ all over the top of his little balding pate. Then he says to me, “Maybelle, look under my forefinger. I think I found a Bug.”
“So, I felt all over the spot he had his fingers pressed down on, and told him, as I have a hundred times before, that there was not a Bug to be found. I reminded him that it was a symptom of his Parkinson’s. That his nerves were squirming around in that area, and that his hair was clean and his scalp looked pink and healthy.”
“Then I told him that I was gonna’ name his left arm and hand The Bug Hunter. He grinned at me and said, ‘more like The Bug Finder‘.” Maybelle chuckled. “He and I both had a good laugh over that one.”
“He sounds sweet,” Peggy Joy cooed.
“Oh, he is. I just love that ’ole man. He was a colonel in the Army’s Air Force during World War Two. Boy, has he got some tales to tell. I just love listenin’ to his stories,” Maybelle answered.
“You know, Maybelle, your talkin’ about the gentleman your caretakin’ reminded me of somethin’ I was considerin’ the other day,” Peggy Joy said earnestly.
“I was rummagin’ around in the ’ole storm cellar tryin’ to find my Granddaddy’s old recipe for Moonshine. It was so strong folks swore that it would make a grown man blind. But it would make a wonderful Hand Sanitizer for Folks who can’t find any Sanitizers anywhere or who can’t afford to buy any for themselves.”
“We could just pour it on separated paper towels or squares of old cloth materials, and pass ‘em out for free.” Peggy Joy explained.
“Oh, I like that idea. And maybe we can get the Ladies of the Women’s Auxilary at Church to help out. Why, we could even make more Face Masks to give to the Doctors and Nurses at our Local Hospital,” Maybelle suggested.
“You know, Peggy Joy, I have real problems with President Trump callin’ this a War. How can you wage War against a Bug you can’t even see, much less destroy,” Maybelle said seriously.
“No one can make an Armistice or a Treaty with a Microbe. But you can Fight it. You can Struggle against it with Human Intelligence and Ingenuity, Hard Work and Patience.”
“I have told Folks for as long as I can remember that Christ was a Warrior of a different kind. He was a Healer - a Unionizer - who brought Folks Together by showin’ them how to Love Everybody - Reach out to Everybody - Welcome Everybody.” Maybelle continued.
“Soldiers are different kinds of Warriors from Christ. They are taught to Break Bodies - Shoot Bodies - Blow Bodies up in order to try and keep Countries and their Ideas and their People Alive and Together for the Present and Future.”
“Healer Warriors, like Christ, Teach and Show Folks how to Mend the Sick, the Shot and Broken in order to keep People and their Ideal and Benevolent Communities Alive and Whole and Thrivin‘.”
“Soldiers are meant to Terrorize and Kill. Christ and his Believers are meant to Comfort and Heal,” Maybelle said softly. “I’ve always seen it that way.”
“Maybelle, where in the world do you come up with such ideas ?
Girl, I swear, I love you and yours, but there are times when I just do not understand you.”
Maybelle smiled at her Old Friend, and with a sideways grin said,
“That’s alright, Peggy Joy, because that’s how I feel about you most of the time.”
Both Friends laughed and patted one another on the back.
“Oh, by the way, Peggy Joy. Jeb and I would like to invite you and Dempsey Ray to our Coronavirus Poker Game,” Maybelle said happily.
“But Maybelle, noone is supposed to get together in groups of ten folks or more. Who else is gonna’ be there ?”
“Janet Lee and Bubba, Barbara and Ernest, and Rebecca and Herman. But this is gonna’ be like no other Poker Game you have ever been to,” Maybelle said mysteriously.
“First of all we’re gonna be filmin’ ourselves for YouTube to give Everybody a Laugh. All of us are gonna’ be dressed in large black, plastic Garbage Bags with holes cut in ’em for our heads and our arms. And our faces will be covered with all of our handmade Tie-dye Face Masks or Bandanas. And our eyes will be covered with Work Goggles. And we’ll all be wearin’ Rubber Gloves,” Maybelle announced gleefully.
“And we’ll all be sittin’ six feet apart and sittin’ all around the room. We’ll all have to run in and out of the middle of the circle to play our Poker Cards, place our Bets, and throw our Chips down on the Table in the center of our Chair Circle.”
“And to top it all off. We’ll all be drinkin’ Corona beers !” Maybelle chortled.
“Well, count me and Dempsey Ray in ! That sounds like more fun than Dempsey and I have had in ages,”
“I knew I could count on y’all for a night of Poker, Coronas and Frivolity !” Maybelle said jubilantly.
“Well, I really don’t like beer, Maybelle, but I’m all for the Poker and Frivolity.” Peggy Joy said agreeably.