The world unmasked

"You gonna have to wait for me to logout and login" she said in a heavily accented voice to the elderly woman who had handed her two packages to mail.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

I think the accent came in the way.

"I have to logout of the computer first."

"Do you want me to step aside?"

"No, it is my computer problem. It is broke."

I am not good at placing accents. I wondered if she was from one of the eastern European countries.

She then walked to the back, lowered her mask, and called for help at the counter because there were now four of us in the line.

Yes, she lowered her mask.  Of course, it defeats the point of mandating masks.  But, I don't fault her.  I can barely go in and out of a store with my mask on and I can't wait to remove the damn thing off my face. 

A guy opened up another counter and called me over.

I handed him the envelope.  "Postage for this mail to India, please."

He placed it on the scale.  "Chennai.  That's southern India, right?"

Again, if only I were an accent expert!  Was his accent Central American?  And, his looks: Was he from Central America or from some Asian country?

"Yes.  Have you been to Chennai?"

"No.  I went to Bengaluru."

After a momentary pause, he added, "it was Bangalore, and now it is Bengaluru."  His eyes suggested something like "what's up with that!"

I nodded my head in agreement.

"You know, Bombay sounds much better than Mumbai."

"I agree. I way prefer Bombay."

Such quality small-talk while waiting for transactions I have enjoyed only in Eugene.  Like the airport taxi driver--a young white dude--who was excited to talk to me about three harmoniums that he and his wife owned and played. 

That was the first of many chats through which I came to understand how well-informed and educated worker bees can be in this town.  Like the master handyman carpenter who has an undergraduate degree in Greek and Latin classics.  A tiler we know is a college graduate.  The checkout clerk at the grocery store who was delighted that my daughter is a neurosurgeon, wanted to know whether I had read Do No Harm. 

For more than a year, I have missed small-talk, which has always helped me understand the world and life itself.  It will be far more enjoyable without masks covering half our faces.