Eyes Open With Your Mask On Quotes

“To-do list:
1. Science – stop people from getting sick and dying.
2. Keep people economically solvent – as you request their help in fighting the pandemic.

Some states do better at one. Others, at the other. None strike the right balance. Everything collapses. Utter failure.

One party is full of bad ideas that their rivals merely rubber-stamp. Like a reverse Robin Hood, they scapegoat the powerless, while simultaneously handing out checks to the richest stakeholders. The other party has few ideas, except for a few bad ones of their own that they throw into the mix. Businesses, flush with cash, appear almost embarrassed to take public money. But they soon get over their initial shame.”
― Gary J. Floyd, Eyes Open With Your Mask On

“The people at the front are young, energetic, and incredibly brave. There’s a Black girl, in her twenties, skinny as a rail, with a black kerchief over her face. The kerchief is useful in both pandemics and the fog of tear gas. She wears skinny jeans and a black T-shirt with “Black Lives Matter” on it. Some white adults are as offended by her choice of wardrobe as she is by their overall indifference. She’s opposed by much larger men, outfitted like extras in Mad Max or RoboCop. The only thing threatening about her is her mouth and her willpower.
On Facebook, the police and their family don’t even create original slogans, but instead co-opt hers by posting things like “all lives matter” and “blue lives matter.” It seems to be their way of saying that her “Black life” doesn’t matter. Whites who favor the protesters have to justify their leanings, like they’re traitors to a race war that they didn’t start and don’t believe in...

This girl is intelligent and talented, someone who should be leading this country into the twenty-first century. Instead, she’s out in the street risking her life because she dares to be dissatisfied.”
― Gary J. Floyd, Eyes Open With Your Mask On

“Eventually, Coleen calls. We have coffee. Coleen asks, “Why haven’t you called?”

I’m inadequate at breaking up too. I say, “I’ve been really busy.”

“Will you call later?”

“Not sure.”

Our relationship won’t end in fireworks. Instead, it’ll end in a whimper. I see myself as she does, a bad boyfriend. Coleen is frustrated, exasperated that I’ve kept her at a distance. We sip coffee. The world passes. I’m convinced that if I continue trying, one day I’ll succeed.”
― Gary J. Floyd, Eyes Open With Your Mask On

“Later that night, I drink a Peartini. Italy now has the largest death rate of any country since the pandemic began. When we return, the cruise lines announce that all operations will be suspended after we dock. I order a Corona beer. The crew, which has been so kind to us, is still unsure what’s going on. They believe they’ll be scattered across different ports or given berths on the ship. We decide to pack rather than go to the silent disco.

By the end of the cruise, movie theaters have unprecedentedly closed. President Trump says, “This is very contagious. This is a very contagious virus. It’s incredible. But it’s something we have tremendous control of.”
― Gary J. Floyd, Eyes Open With Your Mask On

“An Ancient Proverb Concerning the US that I Just Thought Up

A sick man with a gun still has a gun.”
― Gary J. Floyd, Eyes Open With Your Mask On