Playing It Cool
For years I’ve bought my computers refurbished from a local shop in a hipster neighborhood in my city. The proprietors are young, slick-looking guys that wear flip-flops to work. They’re so cool I sometimes wish they were my friends.
Recently, I went in for a machine upgrade and chuffed up my dad bod chest as usual to try to fit in. They were, of course, being their usual cool selves. Another cool thing they were doing was not wearing masks.
“All right,” I thought, “these bros must be vaccinated and, since they’re a private business, they’ve likely made the decision to do their own thing. That’s cool. Just like these cool guys.”
While I was basking in the owner’s typical bad-assery as he was selling me a model, I was perplexed. I was also a little unnerved. It’s been a year of social distancing. New etiquettes are still forming. All of this is still pretty weird.
But, not for boss guys like them.
I returned the following day to pick up my new machine, and as I was transacting, my curiosity got the best of me.
“So, are you guys all vaccinated, or—” I said in my coolest inflection, hoping the pregnant pause might satisfy my inquiring mind.
The owner’s super chill face twisted up at me and he said, “We’re not supposed to be sharing our personal health records with each other, are we?”
I shrank in my embarrassment, tried to save myself with, “Right, right. I thought because you all don’t wear masks…”
“Isn’t the pandemic supposed to end on June 15?” he retorted, referring to California’s statewide lift of the mask mandate and the opening of all business back to full capacity.
“Yeah, right?” I said, “agreeing with him in his domain, my head spinning from the gross judgement I had made about these guys. Were they liberals? Conservatives? Anti-vaxing neo-somethings?
Did it matter?
We quickly returned to the cool and easy transaction, the smiles resuming. This is do-as-you-please America, where assuming positive intent wins, right?
I walked away with my new computer and a renewal of my license to judge, along with a firm reminder that said judgements are usually way off.
It also reminded me that my idea of cool is not what it once was—and that I don’t need to play it cool for anyone, lest I make the world a little colder.
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Photo by Bailey Zindel on Unsplash
