ACHOOOOOO THANKS!!!

ACHOOOOOO THANKS,but Me COUGH … No one covers their mouth anymore.

—Jig3125

A sneeze happens.

ACHOOOOOO!

The room pauses.

Heads turn.

A few people glance around to locate the source.

Then life continues.

No apology.

No hand.

No elbow.

Nothing.

Just a sneeze released into the wild.

ACHOOOOOO!

Thanks.

Now here’s the funny part.

People react differently to a cough.

A sneeze gets a free pass.

A cough gets suspicion.

One person sneezes across the room and nobody says a thing.

One person coughs and suddenly everyone becomes an investigator.

“What was that?”

“Are you okay?”

“Should we be concerned?”

Amazing.

The sneeze arrives like a celebrity.

The cough arrives like a suspect.

Yet both have something in common.

Neither seems to inspire people to cover their mouths anymore.

Maybe people forgot.

Maybe they got comfortable.

Maybe they believe fresh air will negotiate on everyone’s behalf.

Who knows?

What is known is that public sneezing and coughing have become an full-contact sport.

No helmet.

No warning.

No defense.

Just airborne confidence.

The strange thing is that covering your mouth requires so little effort.

A hand.

An elbow.

A tissue.

Something.

Anything.

It’s one of those small acts that says:

“I acknowledge that other people exist.”

A surprisingly thoughtful gesture in a crowded world.

Until then, we continue our daily adventures.

Walking through stores.

Riding trains.

Standing in lines.

Hearing an unexpected:

ACHOOOOOO!

Thanks.

And moments later:

COUGH.

Now everybody pays attention.

Funny how that works.

— JIG3125