From the Chapel — May 11: Choose wisely

3 mins read
Our Sunday Visitor chapel. Scott Richert photo

Scott Richert“From the Chapel” is a series of short, daily reflections on life and faith in a time of uncertainty. As people across the world cope with the effects of the coronavirus — including the social isolation necessary to combat its spread — these reflections remind us of the hope that lies at the heart of the Gospel.

I got my hair cut today.

My last haircut was on Monday, March 9 — exactly nine weeks ago today. For some people, nine weeks without a haircut might be stretching it. For me, five is stretching it, so nine was an unmitigated disaster.

Near the beginning of the year, my barber moved from the south side of town to just around the corner from OSV. I was pleased: I could now set up appointments at lunchtime, still walk to work, and not have to remember to drive to work so I could drive to the barber. (At nearly 52, remembering to drive to work when I usually walk is as unlikely as remembering where I put the car keys.)

For two glorious months, the new location met all of my expectations. Then COVID-19 struck.

Today, May 11, was the first day that barbers and hair salons could open for business again in the state of Indiana. I got the second appointment of the day — less traffic before me means less chance that a carrier had sat in my chair. It’s something I would never have considered before this pandemic, but once you’re used to thinking about when the grocery store will be less crowded, or how many people you can safely fit in a church for Mass, these kind of considerations become second nature.

I’m pleased to say that Jimmy Tha Barber Cornett (as he styles himself) did his usual excellent job on my flattop, a hairstyle I’ve worn for over 35 years but one that fewer and fewer barbers can do well. But I was even more pleased to see the provisions that he and his fellow barbers had made to keep their customers (and themselves) safe as they reopen.

As anyone who is friends with me on Facebook knows, I’ve been very wary about easing restrictions. We need to do it, but we need to do it carefully, and to be frank, I’m not all that impressed with what I’m seeing in the states that are doing so. That’s not a political judgment; it’s based on the lack of testing and contact tracing still in every state of the union, red or blue.

It’s also based on the remarks I’ve seen on social media and some of the behavior I’ve observed at the grocery store. But today I saw something different: a small-business owner who takes his responsibility to his clients seriously, which means, too, that he enforces good behavior from those clients when they walk through his door. A national grocery-store chain isn’t going to enforce a rule that everyone must wear a mask for the safety and, frankly, comfort of everyone else; Jimmy is.

Other small businesses, such as Nick’s Kitchen and the Brick House Grill here in Huntington, have decided that just because they can open again for dine-in service, doesn’t mean that they have to. They’ve stayed open this whole time and provided carry-out service (including family-style meals at reasonable prices), and they’re going to keep doing so until they, and not the bureaucrats in Indianapolis, feel it’s in the best interest of their customers to reopen for dine-in. And when they do, if Jean Anne Bailey has rules about where you’re going to sit when you visit Nick’s Kitchen and whether you’re going to wear a mask up until your food arrives, her customers are going to listen.

Why? Because they know one another, and they trust one another. That’s what life in a community means.

Edmund Burke once wrote (and I’m paraphrasing here) that the man who will not restrain himself will be restrained by those who govern him. All of our chafing against the measures that have been taken in our states, in our country and around the world in order to try to bring this pandemic under control should be a sign that we’re ready to take responsibility for our own actions as restrictions are eased.

We have a choice: We can continue to chafe even as restrictions are eased and refuse to adopt minor changes to our lifestyle that may protect others and retard the spread of this virus — in which case we may well find ourselves back under stay-at-home orders as cases begin to swell once more — or we can embrace living in community and act in ways that show care for those around us.

For Christians, the choice should be easy. After all, the latter option is nothing more than what we’ve always been called to do.

Scott P. Richert is publisher for OSV.

Scott P. Richert

Scott P. Richert is publisher for OSV.