I came across that silly leopard-print mask the other day as I was cleaning out my luggage. My preference for masks now tends towards the technologically sophisticated (KN-95s) rather than fashionable. But that little leopard-print rag did right by me. Masks work. I’m not sure I’ll ever fly again without one.

Not to brag about being ahead of trends, but I started wearing a mask on airplanes four years ago, well before Covid even existed in humans. It’s not that I’m prescient. What happened is that winter after winter I had been struck down by bronchitis and sinus infections and even pneumonia, and I was worn out from it.