Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Paul Richardson: When you pack up the babies and grab the old ladies, be sure to grab a mask


You don’t want to wear a mask? Lighten up man, chill! While I have misidentified more than one person due to the wearing of mask the complications are minor, and mask have a purpose.


The Neosho Fall Festival is taking place on Saturday, October 3rd. While there is a Health and Safety Plan that has been prepared, approved by the Newton County Health Department, and then presented to the Neosho City Council, which they approved, it is meaningless without the participation of everyone who attends the Festival.


Participation will only come if those who are going to attend, not everybody will attend and some have objections, but attendees need information on what measures they should employ as they visit the Festival. 








All vendors will have buffer spaces between their assigned areas. Hand wash stations, hand sanitizers will be dispersed throughout the Festival, and each vendor is required to provide easy access to hand sanitizer at their booth. There will be reminders on the front of each vendors booth and throughout the Festival covering recommended practices. 

It is highly recommended that when you, this means those that are coming to the Festival, start getting ready and “pack up the babies and grab the old ladies”, (thank you Neil Diamond for that line from ‘Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show’), take a moment to grab and pack your mask, face covering, bandana, whatever. I don’t like to wear them either. It makes it harder, but not impossible, to breathe. I have COPD and asthma and a ligament reason to make a case for me not wearing one, but I do wear them especially in those locations that I am requested to.

So, on the day of the Fall Festival, I will be wearing a mask. Me being me, I decided to have some fun with it. To make that happen, I ordered some special accessories specifically for use on that day. With a couple minor adjustments, it will be a face covering that will provide all of the safety and functional capabilities required to make you safe around me!

No one is mandating or demanding that mask be worn, but it is a prudent idea and if you want to join in with me, we can make it a fun part of the Festival. If you have been following the social media posting for the Fall Festival and associated activities such as Artist Alley, Soap Box Derby Show and Races, and the Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Show, you might have noticed a tagline, #AllWeAskIsWearAMask. 

Pretty catchy, right? Well, you can credit that one to the goodwife. I had been working on ideas for a tagline, when she made the statement that caught my attention and I said, “That’s it, that is what I have been searching for.”

There is more to the character that will be represented on October 3rd and that story is somewhat lengthy and best shared in pleasant conversation. You will know me when you see me, and I will be easy to find at Fall Festival!

(Paul Richardson's column, the Horse I Rode In On, is published weekly in the Neosho Daily News, Seneca News-Dispatch, Aurora Advertiser and on the Turner Report.)

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