A CORONA CURTAIN COMES DOWN.

In the aftermath of the World Trade Center being destroyed by jihadis, the United States, and much of the developed world, experienced a lot of security theater.  We didn't yet know that there were security Karens, but for some time thereafter, it was risky to be observed taking pictures of trains.  The ferroequinologist community circulated legal advice for photographers to read, understand, and have along to show to overweening public officials or civilians attempting to posture.

It got so bad for a while that Railway collected reader stories under the heading "Iron Curtain Britain."

These days, it isn't taking pictures of trains that scares people.

Back in July or August, I was walking along Alvarado Street minding my own business. Suddenly, someone with a Monterey city government worker logo on his shirt came up to me and told me I had to wear a mask. I asked him to show me in the regulations where it said that. The sign above admits of no exceptions but the regulatory document is pages long. A local lawyer friend only a few days earlier had explained to me that one wasn’t legally required to wear a mask if one were exercising. I was on my daily quick walk.

So he pulled out the regulations to show me that there wasn’t such an exception. I walked over to look over his shoulder so I could show him the exception. He told me he was uncomfortable with my being so close without a mask. That’s fair, I thought, so I donned my mask. Neither Bill (his name) nor I could find the exception that my lawyer friend had told me about. For that reason, I wore my mask for the rest of my walk.

But when I got back to my office and got on line, I did find a 6-foot exception but not the exercise exception. I printed out the regs and started carrying them with me on my daily walk.

Sooner or later, the official restrictions will expire. But the temptation for assorted busybodies to continue to enforce the corona curtain will continue.

By all means, respect the wishes of any business owner on the matter of mask wearing, but where the opportunity presents itself to take your business elsewhere, take it.