Other than the clicking of the keys on the computers I use for work or the.video clips I’m playing, there is no sound in my house. There’s no noise outside either. No one is walking, driving or talking to neighbors. The silence was broken today by a UPS truck. As soon as I heard the driver open the sliding door, I raced to my front door.

The drive sauntered up with only gloves on his hands. He sat my package on the top step and backed over to my flower pot. I didn’t have sign for it or anything. Guess it isn’t a good idea to have loads of strangers touching the signature pad or being close enough to the driver to do it.

“Where is your mask?” I asked as I put on my blue gloves so I could pick up my box.

“Where are the medical supplies?” He replied. “There are none and I know. I deliver to the two hospitals here in Newark and I haven’t seen any. I’ve done 190 deliveries in the last day and a half and none to the hospitals. If they don’t have them, I don’t.”

“That’s terrible,” I exclaimed. “I was just writing about this for my job.”

“Some of us got to work,” he said. “If I get this virus I’ll bring it home to my kids. If someone at the hospital gets it, we are all in trouble; the patients, their families, and the public. I’d rather have the supplies.”

The driver walked away shaking his head.

I yelled out to him, “do you want some of my gloves or a cloth for your face?”

“No ma’am.”

“Well, please try to stay safe.”

“You too. I hope we all do.”

I thought about what he said when I went back inside. This weekend I’m going to teach myself how to use my sewing machine so I can make some masks, I thought. Maybe I will see him again to give him one. Something will be better than nothing.

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