We are standing in a long line
Outside, waiting to exchange money

Everyone else seems poor laborers
Ethnic minorities
Reminds me of the lines
When we were applying
For my wife’s green card

We finally make it inside
To the moneychanger
My Father, Son and Me

I hand him our money
He puts it in an envelope
A zippered blue plastic bag
I am surprised
At the lack of formal process

I suddenly realize
None of us are wearing masks
Has the county declared
The health emergency over?
Or is it just
That nobody cares anymore?

I decide to put my mask on
Except it isn’t my usual mask
This one is dark blue
And has a thin gauzy flap

At first I think
I am putting it on
Upside down
Then I realize
It is supposed to cover my whole head
With a slit for the eyes

We get back outside
The rest of the family is there
Waiting by my bicycle

For some unknown reason
My son grabs my AirPods Pro
From their case
In the bicycle basket
And starts tossing them in the air

He drops one
Surprised
He steps forward
And crunches it beneath his feet
Even though it is on grass
And he is wearing
Some sort of hard flexible rubber
Shoe-socks
With a dark blue design
Over the black

He is appalled
I am horrified
I could understand
If this happened while he borrowed them
Even without my permission
At least there would be a reason

But this destruction
Seems inexplicably wanton
Lack of impulse-control on his part
Total disrespect for me and my property
Plus clumsiness and bad luck

He dances backwards
Away from the scene of the crime
And stands there frozen

I implore him
To not just stand there
But at least help me look
In case
It is not thoroughly
Broken

Note: in real life, my son is much more respectful. Especially towards electronics!

Is this about COVID
And my inability to understand
Those I consider
Senselessly careless?

Why all the dark blue?
• Moneybag
• Mask
• Shoe-socks

Is this how my friend RB feels
About the medical establishment
With their skewed incentives
And casual disregard
For inconvenient facts
And his autonomy?