A strange thing happened to me on Tuesday.

I walked into Grocery Outlet and saw…wait for it…faces.

Can you fathom it?

People walking around with no masks.

I went to another store.

Same thing.

What meaneth this strange phenomena, you may well ask.

I will tell you.

California’s governor decided that fully vaccinated people can now return to their normal life since we have the lowest Covid infection rates in the nation, and places like San Diego County have achieved “herd immunity.”

For the record, not everyone is taking advantage of this new, dare I say it, “freedom.” Some, feeling a sense of nakedness and insecurity, just cannot bring themselves to go maskless after all this time.

But it will come.

Those who are venturing forth without masks seem to be doing a lot of smiling. Why? Because we have faces again.

“What about the unvaccinated?”

Well, that’s the confusing part. There are some who are really pushing hard for some form of “vaccine passport” that will allow people to electronically prove their status when queried before entering a business or event. For now, at least here in California, everything is on the “honor system.” Basically because most retailers lack the appetite for potential litigation that would follow on the heels of inquiring about someone’s personal medical history.

As more and more studies make their way to the fore (such as the one released last week by the Cleveland Clinic, and the previous one in February by the European Journal of Clinical Investigation) providing empirical evidence that there is virtually no difference in rate of reinfection between people with natural immunity and those who are fully vaccinated, people are going to have to, once and for all, decide whether to follow the science…or maintain the narrative.

I hope they follow the science.

Because, I like my face. And I like yours. And I hope to see more of it.

rg…out!