OK, I listened to most of Gov. Greg Abbott's talk today at the Lubbock restaurant.
The Texas governor has rescinded a statewide mask mandate and told all business owners who cater to all clientele that they are now free to open "100 percent," despite the presence of COVID-19 virus that is still infecting Texans and other Americans.
I have decided to ignore Abbott's recommendation. I am going instead to heed the call of President Biden who is asking us to wear masks at least for the first 100 days of his administration.
Biden is making the more prudent decision. As for the business reopening, most of 'em will have to make that trip back to "normality" without me, and likely without my bride as well.
I'm staying the course in mitigating the effects of the killer virus. It could have claimed a member of my immediate family and the memory of that frightening experience is too damn fresh in my mind to ignore.
I do have a fear that those who watched and listened to Gov. Abbott didn’t hear fully the governor advise us to take care, to continue to observe the recommendations laid out by professional medical experts and scientists to avoid becoming infected. I fear that Texans heard him say he was “rescinding the mask mandate,” which means they can shed the masks and that there’s nothing to worry about.
Oh, my. Not so fast my fellow Texans.
We need to be very careful.
John Kanelis, former editorial page editor for the Amarillo Globe-News and the Beaumont Enterprise, is also a former blogger for Panhandle PBS in Amarillo. He is now retired, but still writing. Kanelis can be contacted via Twitter @jkanelis, on Facebook, or his blog, www.highplainsblogger.com.Kanelis' blog for KETR, "Piece of Mind," presents his views, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of KETR, its staff, or its members.
Kanelis lives in Princeton with his wife, Kathy.
