When I wrote the article for the April edition of Positively Naperville, I had hoped that by the time people were reading the article the crisis would be over. As I write the article for the May edition, I think of all the ways our lives have changed.
Baseball season may open without any fans in the stands, graduation ceremonies are canceled or will be done on a remote basis. There have been so many changes in our daily lives.
One of the most noticeable changes has been the number of people wearing facemasks.
The Navy issued a directive that all personnel on naval bases or facilities have to wear facemasks that have four layers of fabric. This directive includes when Navy personnel and their families shop at the commissary or exchange. This meant that every person, including children, would need a mask. And, of course, while the U.S. Navy had some masks, they definitely did not have enough to provide masks for everyone who now needed them.
To meet these requirements the members of the Family Relief Group (FRG) of the USS ILLINOIS moved quickly to get masks for the crew. The FRG is primarily spouses of the crew. After they took care of the needs of the crew, they had to address the issue of providing masks for themselves and their children. Because the USS ILLINOIS was at sea, the young moms would now have the additional burden of making sure their children wore masks if they went grocery shopping.
Because the elastic straps can irritate the area behind the ears, the Cleveland Clinic came up with the suggestion of using headbands with buttons on them. The elastic can go around the button instead of causing chafing behind the ear.
I’ve always thought that American ingenuity and creativity have helped make our country great. Now I’m counting on that same ingenuity and creativity to come up with a vaccine for a disease that we didn’t even know existed six months ago.
