I'm Only the Trombone Player

The Quarantine Blues

Alrighty Then ... Here I am in quarantine.

Strangely enough, I made it all this way through the Covid mess without a problem. Then, after getting both doses of the vaccine and feeling a little safer I encountered one!

The background;

Our state education department has mandated that All Personal, Staff, Faculty, and Students must wear a mask while not in a private setting, while not maintaining a six-foot separation or while in any public space within the buildings or grounds.

The problem;

A young lady, guided by her vehemently "anti-masker" father, repeatedly is cited for mask violations, refusing to wear her mask. Eventually, these violations pile up and she is suspended from school. As part of that process, she is entitled to a Superintendent's Hearing, which is usually never with the Superintendent but rather with a member of the school's "administrative team".

Enter Me;

As a "loyal team member" I usually end up doing about four of these hearings per school year. Usually, the hearings are pretty cut and dried.

         "Were you smoking on school grounds?"

         "Yes, but it wasn't tobacco, it was —

         Inturrupting, so I don't hear what I don't want to hear, "That's it then, your three-day suspension stands, stop smoking on school property!"

Like I said pretty cut and dried, normally a twenty-minute process, that interrupts my coffee break.

Not This Time!

I did quite a bit of "prep", rereading the State and CDC guidelines (which change daily), copying all of the guidelines, and preparing them in "presentation format". I even went so far as to seek out guidance from the school's attorneys, who provided citations involving the right of the CDC, State and, Schools to impose standards for public safety.

It went as I expected, the father insisted on his daughter's right to not wear a mask, (by the way, he wore a mask to gain entry to the hearing) despite the facts and legal citations put before him. Bear in mind he made no attempt to claim a medical or other exemption.

When asked if his daughter would wear a mask if allowed to return to school (I was actually prepared to "commute" the suspension), he answered, "No Way In Hell".

Given no choice, and his insistence that she would not wear a mask I informed him, that his daughter would not be allowed to return to school and that she was now a distance-only learner until the mask requirements were changed. I did expunge the suspension, there's no reason the kid should suffer the sins of the parent.

After some shouting, threats, and other unsettling behavior, the gentlemen and his daughter left.

The Aftermath;

I dropped off the paperwork and spent about twenty minutes explaining myself to an Assistant Superintendent, who felt I should have left the suspension in place, but otherwise supported my decision before heading out to my car.

It was then, just I as stepped into the fresh air and was removing my mask that the girl's father approached me and coughed several times in my face. He was closed enough that I could feel his spittle hitting me. Unfortunately for him, it was all caught on camera.

Our intrepid security force responded quickly enough to get his plate number, he was pulled over and taken into custody (in front of his daughter) and is being charged with some form of assault.

He was forced to get a Covid test, his results were positive, as were his daughter's and wife's.

Hence, thank you, I have been placed in "precautionary quarantine". So far my tests have been negative, but the school wants me out for ten days, so here I sit.